Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Andy Andrews The Buck Stops Here

Andy Andrews Mastering the Seven DecisionsThe buck stops here.

In celebration of the upcoming release of his newest book, Mastering The Seven Decisions, we are revisitng Andy Andrews and the seven decisions that determine personal success from his classic book The Traveler's Gift.

Today we are talking about decision number one: the buck stops here.

The term "the buck stop here" was popularized by US President Harry S. Truman. Truman made a point of emphasizing that as president, he had to make the decisions and be fully responsible and accountable for the results of those decisions. It was not an option for him to hand off the decision to somebody else, to "pass the buck", or to blame someone else if a decision went awry.

As David Ponder (the main character in The Traveler's Gift) learns, the first success principle is to take responsibility for your own decisions. The buck stops here.

This first decision is a key one to understand because it is about personal leadership. It is about taking responsibility for your own results and realizing it's your past decisions and your past best thinking that has determined the results you are getting right now.

So "the buck stops here" means that you are personally responsible for leading yourself.

This can be a very uncomfortable decision to make because it implies that you are accountable for the results you get in your own life. There's no room to pass the buck or blame anyone else once you've made this decision.

And that's also a very empowering place from which to operate.

Here's a video from my wealth creation newsletter I put together quite some time ago in which I reflect on Andy Andrews and his assertion that the buck stops here is the first decision in the journey to personal success.



Don't forget about our contest. Inspired Abundance is giving away 5 brand new copies of Andy Andrews new book, Mastering The Seven Decisions. Simply post a comment about the 7 decisions to this blog and you are automatically entered. And remember, decision number one is very simple: the buck stops here.

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