“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”
Sir Josiah Stamp, 20th Century British industrialist
Personal responsibility is the key to this quote. I believe Mr. Stamp was saying we can kid ourselves for awhile, but the problems we duck today will come back tomorrow, and we still have to deal with them.
No finger Pointing!
We see that all too often in our business. When people don’t get the debt settlement results they hoped for, some look everywhere but in the mirror for a solution. It always upsets us when someone doesn’t succeed, but it’s even worse when they point fingers at others – sometimes at us – when they need to accept some personal responsibility.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not pointing my finger, but I feel the need to address this topic because it’s at the heart of achieving success in personal finances, debt settlement and everything else in life: we are ultimately responsible for our own actions.
64,000,000 Google Results!
This is a big topic. I’m certainly not the leading authority, so I did a quick Google search for “personal responsibility” and found more than 64 million pages of results! I’m sure millions of them offer good definitions and sound advice.
At the top of the list was LiveStrong.com, champion cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Website. The thorough Q&A list of is worth a look for anyone, but is especially helpful if you know someone who always seems to blame circumstances or other people for the way their life is going.
In today’s economy, many people have had situations thrust on them that they just couldn’t control – layoffs, illness, accidents and divorce, to name a few. But those things happen all the time, recession or not, and the solution is always the same.
The Telltale Signs of Failure
Most people we counsel respond positively and take personal responsibility, but a few never seem to get it. Experience has taught us to see when things are headed south.
Any of these three events can be a show stopper, but people who do more than one almost certainly are headed for a debt settlement train wreck:
- Not setting aside money to pay bills
- Not turning over correspondence from creditors to the debt settlement company
- Failing to let the settlement company be the single point of contact with creditors
Plan the Work, Work the Plan
These things are all part of the specific plan we develop together with each client. People who take personal responsibility and work the plan almost always help themselves succeed. That’s right: they are also responsible for their own success. We help, but they are in control.
Our company feels strongly about this, so much that we recently issued a press release on the topic, American Debt Control Exec Says Personal Accountability Key to Debt Settlement. Let us know what you think.