You are responsible for your actions. Completely responsible.

There is never a time when you are not responsible for what you do, what you think, and the results that you achieve.

It doesn’t matter what other people are doing to you. It doesn’t matter what other people are getting away with. Your life, your priorities, and your perspective are all completely your responsibility.

It is easy to be distracted by what is going on around you. It’s natural to think that because someone else is getting away with something wrong that consequences don’t apply to everyone. They do.

The truth is that no one gets away with anything.

What you do earns you the results that you get. It may take you years or decades to experience the consequences of your actions. But there’s never a time when you earn a different result than the actions you execute.

It’s really that simple. What you do matters. What you do leads to clear and distinct results.

You’re not responsible for the timing of those results. Usually, you can’t change when you get what’s coming to you. You are, however, completely responsible for you.

Think about the frustrations you face in your life right now.

You think you need more resources or you need more time. If it’s not one of those, it’s something else you think you need. You’re frustrated because you feel like you could be more successful if life gave you your chance. More resources. Less of the bad stuff.

That’s a dangerous way to think.

The truth is that it’s on you to get what you want from life.

If you want something that you don’t have, go and get it. Don’t wait for other people to realize your situation and ask to help you. Fight for yourself.

It might require personal sacrifice. It might mean that you have less free time — or less money to spend on fun. But that’s the cost of getting what you want. That’s the price of taking back ownership of your life. And destiny.

And just in case you think that life has it in for you, let’s be clear about something else.

Bad stuff happens to all of us — not just people we might label as “losers”.

It’s true that successful people get to write history. But if you look at the traits that those people share, you will see something remarkable

1. They remain eternally optimistic
2. They are “all in” on their own success
3. They make fewer excuses and expect less fairness
4. They know exactly what they want to achieve next
5. They are willing to do whatever it takes to make progress
6. They don’t care what anyone else thinks about them

Look around at the people you think of as successful. They share these same qualities, don’t they?

Now, before you get angry and disagree –or find fault with my choice of words, let’s dig into this a bit deeper.

You’re responsible for getting to where you want to be.

You alone. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you been through, or where you are right now.

The life you’re living is of your doing. It’s the result of everything you’ve done or not done to get to this point right now.

Make no mistake, you’re going to need help from others to achieve breakthrough. That’s normal. And natural. We all need somebody. And in most cases, a lot of somebodies. But let’s be super clear about this. It’s you. All you.

Think about the last time you ran a race.

Whether it’s a 5K, half marathon, or something longer you’ll find people at the starting line, at the finish line, and throughout the race holding signs that encourage you to keep running.

Some of them will even have cowbells or plastic trumpets that they’re blowing. Cheering for you. Telling you to keep going. That you’re almost there. But it’s on you to move your legs.

No amount of cheering or support can force you to keep running when you have decided that you’re going to quit.

So what does this tell us about making forward progress?

What can we learn about getting all we want from life?

Most people are not as successful as they could be because they aren’t willing to go far enough.

Many people work hard. Few people work hard enough.

Many people are determined. Few people are truly willing to do what it takes.

Many people hope for success. Few people believe it will happen.

These are “almost-indistinguishably-different” positions too. The people who work hard but not hard enough look “scary similar” to the people who are willing to put in enough effort to achieve results. 

They usually use the same nouns and verbs. They often look they are doing the exact same thing. But with enough time, history makes the difference clear.

And this isn’t about money.

Getting what you want from life isn’t all about making more money. That’s a really small part of success.

In fact, there are many more stories of people achieving mindblowing feats of greatness outside of wealth — in math, sports, science, and politics. Where driven people with clear goals decide to be magnificently accountable for their own actions and outcomes.

We all start from different places in life. Most of us are in the middle of the crazy extremes we use as illustrations of success or failure. No one is probably going to be making a movie about the story of your life.

And that’s absolutely ok.

Regardless of each your starting point, forward progress is simply a matter of will. You have to truly believe that — or you won’t achieve your true potential. Whatever that is.

So own your day. Own your destiny. Own this moment. Take about control of your life.

Refuse to blame anyone else for where you’ve been and the frustrations you have faced along the way your journey.

Listen to the crowd cheering — and sometimes jeering — and just keep moving forward. One step at a time.

You’re already strong enough. Smart enough. Tough enough. You just need to believe that you’re responsible for you.

Be the boss of you.