Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement

Take Charge of Your Life
➤
81
ccc_tracy_5_77-89.qxd  6/23/03  2:47 PM  Page 81

---

■
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
My first big breakthrough in life came when I discovered that I
could learn anything I needed to learn to achieve any goal I could
set for myself. My second breakthrough was when I realized that I
was completely responsible for myself and everything that hap-
pened to me.
No one was going to do anything for me.
If I wanted
something, it was completely up to me to do whatever was neces-
sary to get it. If I had a problem or limitation, it was up to me to
solve it or overcome it. I was on my own.
The acceptance of 
personal responsibility
for your life is the giant
step from childhood to maturity. Prior to that decision, people criti-
cize, complain, and blame others for their problems. After that deci-
sion, they see themselves as the primary creative forces in their own
lives. Before you take total responsibility for your life, you see your-
self as a 
victim
. Afterward, you see yourself as a 
victor
.
■