Taking Ownership in Business – Does it Make or Break You?
FroM herE on OUT, knoW tHAT THERE is no one ELSE TO BLaME.
If you’ve ever heard of the great Jocko Willink, then this conversation will be one that you’ve heard before. One that at its core speaks to all of us on a level that’s both enlightening and scary.
So, I’m going to put on my life coaching hat for a moment, because I often get asked the question: How do you accomplish so much? How do you pursue your goals in life? How do you get things done on time with great results? In return, they tell me that they are exhausted, and they struggle to honor their promises to themselves. Their work and productivity isn’t what they know it can be.
So how do you handle this? How can you improve all of these things?
I can’t tell you the secret to this in its entirety, I’m still trying to sort life out myself, but I can help you with something that will reshape how you look at your business and your own life, and that’s by taking ownership.
Taking ownership of where things are currently at, where they’ve been, and where you REALLY want to see them.
Not “well it would be nice if…”
I mean the goals you have that scare you and shake you up inside. The ones that keep you awake at night, always pestering you like you’re supposed to do something about it.
But what does this really mean? At it’s core, when you take ownership of something, you accept responsibility.
Yes, that monstrous thing they tell us about when we’re kids….that is what SUCKS being an adult. That’s why you have Peter Pan, who never wants to grow old.
But the secret’s out, that’s part of what is GREAT about being an adult. Because that ownership and responsibility leads to autonomy, which leads to freedom, and from there the ability to live life more fully.
When you accept this, you realize that if you want to see a change you will have to ACT and DO something in order to make things change. That you are no longer waiting on someone else to just fix it or realize that it’s a problem for you. Instead, you get to stand up and say. I will own this. And I need to find a way to make it work. From there, you will find a way.
That’s how you take dreams and turn them into goals and then into reality. You take ownership.
Here’s an example. Let’s say my marketing is struggling and I’m not getting the clients I need to pay the bills. I’m trying everything, so it must be the market’s fault. Yes, and I can’t possibly change the market. So, I don’t do anything except wait for things to change and feel frustrated and angry that things aren’t working like I want them to. I feel out of control and victimized.
Does thinking like that really solve the problem? Does it stop other businesses from finding a way to market that DOES work? Does it make me feel better? No. No, it doesn’t.
When you take a step back and make yourself more responsible, you simultaneously allow yourself to be more empowered.
This means taking the time to invest and understand what’s going on. It means being honest with yourself about what you are choosing to do and how you act to clearly hold yourself accountable to fixing or solving whatever the issue is. You can’t hide behind excuses or blame anymore.
You can’t say that it’s the train’s fault for making you late. You know it runs at the same time everyday. You can’t say that it’s the economies fault. The economy has experienced worse times than now, and people still found a way to make it work. You can’t say that you can’t keep off the weight, because you absolutely can. In fact, you know that you’ve been sneaking treats when you’re having an emotional day.
My point is that almost all of the moments that hold you back from what you know you’re capable of in your life and business are centered around the moments that you could choose to own what is happening and take charge.
Or you could blame something else and take a backrow seat as you wait for something to change in your favor. Personally, I’ve found that the first option, though uncomfortable, always leads to the best results and success.
In the case of the marketing example, this might mean that you accept that, “Hey, the market is changing and my customers are looking elsewhere for some reason. I need to find out why.” From there you realize that people have transitioned to buying strictly through online apps and that your ads are still on the local ecommerce center’s bulletin boards. But nobody is reading those.
You recognize that something needs to be done, you accept responsibility, and you ACT. Entrepreneurs accept ownership in times of change and pivot. In that crucial moment they accept responsibility by saying “I haven’t been paying attention to my customers needs.” “I have been so reliant on what worked for me in the past that I didn’t want to change. It’s inconvenient, and it’s scary.” And then they say, “But I need to adjust and make this work.”
If you want to change your business and your life, it’s imperative that you accept that a lot of what is going on in your life is happening as a consequence of choices that you have chosen to make or not to make.
Start accepting responsibility there. And then start making change happen for yourself.
Accomplish the things you say you’re going to. Be responsible for the promises you make to yourself. Own your goals and dreams and bring them to life. Become the best possible version of yourself because you want it and are fully capable of seeing them all become real.
Britt
Want to delve even deeper? Check out these posts too: