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How to Get into the Driver's Seat of Life (Part 3) As you may remember in Part 1 of "How to Get into the Driver's Seat of Life," blaming people or conditions is not on the road to success. No matter how often you blame people or situations, no matter how convincing your arguments, and no matter how many people agree with you, blame does not boost your productivity, increase your income or make you happier. "Full responsibility is not fault; it is recognition of being cause." -- L. Ron Hubbard Accepting full responsibility makes you successful. You can solve your own problems. You sit in the driver's seat of life. Part 2 of "How to Get into the Driver's Seat of Life," included one of L. Ron Hubbard's definitions of responsibility: "We can define responsibility as the concept of being able to care for, to reach or to be." "It includes guard it, help it, like it, be interested in it, etc." "It is willingness to own or act or use or be." -- L. Ron Hubbard From the above quotes, you can create a list of questions to ask yourself. You can use your answers to guide you toward fuller responsibility. Examples: CAUSE IT: How have I caused this problem? You can boost your personal power to a new level by using another concept from L. Ron Hubbard, as covered in this third and final part of "How to Get into the Driver's Seat of Life." Believing, Knowing, Willing Taking responsibility for something does not necessarily mean you have to do anything. Just change your attitude about the situation. "To be responsible for something one does not actually have to care for it or reach it or be it. One only needs to believe or know that he has the ability to care for it, reach it or be it." -- L. Ron Hubbard Bob owned a large copy machine sales and service company. Sales had been in a slump for several weeks. He couldn't get his sales team to sell machines no matter what he tried. He learned this application of responsibility and decided to step up to the plate. He told his sales people, "If you guys don't sell some copiers within the next three hours, I'll do it myself." Until then, Bob had not been willing do any sales. But when he said he would go sell copiers himself, he really meant it. Three hours later, Bob grabbed some business lead sheets and headed for his car to go make some sales. Before he made it outside, two salesmen called the office to arrange delivery for new copiers. Bob smiled, put down the lead sheets and went back to his work. Three other sales came in by the end of the day which meant they sold more machines that afternoon than in the previous month. Bob knew his willingness made the difference. Responsibility can seem to work like magic at times. 1. You have a problem, 2. You assume full responsibility for it, but before you do anything, 3. The problem solves. When an army commander is willing to lead the charge, his troops have more courage. He does not need to actually ride a horse and wave a sword, but he must be completely willing to do so. When a motel manager is willing to clean toilets, her maids do not quit as often. When one spouse in a troubled marriage is willing to apologize or compromise, the other spouse suddenly feels the same way. If you are a manager, this means you must be willing to do every job under you. For example, if you are unwilling to learn how to use the computer, it will be twice as hard for your staff to learn to use the computer. If you are unwilling to work long hours, your people will hate long hours. If you are afraid to face and handle the nasty customers, your employees will also be afraid. However, if you become completely willing to learn how to use the computer, if you know you can work all night, and if become willing to face and handle nasty customers, despite the danger, suddenly your staff members become willing and able to do the same things! Summary Avoiding problems, blaming others or explaining away difficulties gets you nowhere. Every business and every individual who fails can give you dozens of explanations or people to blame. You now know the secret: the real reason they give excuses or blame others is they are not taking responsibility. Luckily, responsibility is easy to take. Improving your ability and willingness to accept full responsibility makes working, managing and living much easier. You feel calmer and in better control. You have a distinct edge in the game. You are in the driver's seat of life. Copyright © 2007 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here. |
