The number 100 has been coming up for me a lot today.
Today, Time Magazine released its Time100 Most Influential People 2020 and I am not sure why I am not on it. (That’s a joke – for now, but I’m working on it.)
As of today, September 23, 2020, we have exactly 100 days left of this befuddling year. Like many of you, I have been struggling in so many ways during this pandemic. But there are also so many things I have learned during this time as well.
One of the things I have known but didn’t fully assimilate until recently is also based on the number 100.
100%
Every personal development guru, every professional development expert, anyone who has ever become successful in their lives has said the same thing: You must take 100% responsibility for your life.
One of the most influential professional authorities, and one of my virtual mentors, Jim Rohn once said:
“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons or the wind, but you can change yourself.”
And this is the quote that begins the book The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.
Currently, I am revisiting this book because my new accountability partner and I have a great number of goals, some of them BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) that we want to accomplish in the next 100 days. That hyperlink points to Rainmaking Recommendation #187, written in December 2019, in which I had detailed the BHAGs that I had for 2020. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I am not even close to achieving the goals I wanted to achieve during this year – one of which was to help 2,020 lawyers learn to develop new business.
Jack Canfield writes in his book:
“If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything you experience in your life. This includes the level of your achievements, the results you produce, the quality of your relatioships, the state of your health and physical fitness, your income, your debts, your feelings – everything!
This is not easy.”
Sure, I could blame the pandemic, or the political environment, or the economic climate, but the fact is that it is 100% my responsibility that I have not come close to those goals (and many of my other goals). I take full responsibility because I did not do what I needed to do to achieve the goals I set for myself.
As human beings, we have an innate tendency to want to do what is easy. This is why there is fast food, instant everything, and so many ways to be distracted during the day (ahem . . . Facebook, TikTok, Twitter). And what has been easier for me than going after my goals during these past 7 months was binge-watching Hulu or Netflix (particularly documentaries because it made me feel better about myself that I wasn’t actually wasting time, I was learning). However, that changes for me today. And I hope this will help change it for you too.
There is so much we can do in 100 days if we take 100% responsibility for our lives and our actions. What do you want to accomplish before the end of the year?
Make a list of the 5 things you want to accomplish – not just in business but also in your life. Have you gained weight and want to take it off? Have you not brought in the number of clients or the amount of business you would like? Have you been having issues at home because of all of the togetherness time?
Take 100% responsibility for what has happened in the past until the moment you read this line. There are no excuses, no reasons, and no blame that will change what has happened in the past. Now, determine what you would like to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it in the next 100 days. And take full responsibility for making sure you go after those goals. Don’t worry about next year – yet. Finish this one strong.
I am finishing this year incredibly strong because, as of today, I am working with someone who is going to hold me accountable for keeping the promises that I make to myself. And I am going to be holding her accountable for the goals she is setting for herself. We have decided to use The Success Principles as a conversation starter and a motivational tool.
You can do the same – you can find an accountability buddy or hire a coach (and if you are interested and are an attorney with 4 or more years of practice in a firm with 50 or more attorneys, I am offering a complimentary Rainmaking Coaching session – click on the hyperlink to schedule an appointment at your convenience. This is so you can experience what it is like to work with a coach, even if you don’t wind up working with me.)
But most importantly – take 100% responsibility for all of your actions and results. I promise you it will change the trajectory of your life.
- If you are a mid-level associate who would like to become a partner or a partner looking to become a Rainmaker and are interested in individual coaching but would like to take it for a test drive, schedule your FREE Rainmaking Coaching Session
- If you are a law firm leader and would like to discuss bringing a virtual training program or a Rainmaking Webinar (with Ethics CLEs) email me.
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