“The Greatest Challenge in Life is Leading Yourself”
-John Maxwell

As I continue to be involved in Social Media, the more I hear blame being thrown around for the condition of our world. Be it the $31T in debt we have as a nation, here in the US, the war in Ukraine, or COVID-19 which has lead to "The Great Reset" as some indicate, many point to the governments around the world as to why we are in this predicament.

However, there is this nagging in my spirit that says, while some of the above is true - is there more to the story? What about "we the people?" Do we play a part in all of the worlds ills? Part of me believes so because I believe that ultimately the condition of our world is the result of the collective actions of all of humanity.

While serving in the United States Navy onboard a nuclear submarine, it was tradition to say no matter what happens on that boat, the Commanding Officer is ultimately to blame for its performance. While I agree with that in principle, I still believe that each member on that boat is just as responsible for what goes down.

Each person is born into this world with a hand that is dealt to them. We do not get to choose who we are born to, but we can choose how we play the hand that was dealt. If you know me, you know I was not born into privilege. No, in fact I come from modest means. Born the last of 8 children to two parents who worked in fast food their entire lives; management but still limited resources for the time expended. Providing for that many people on a very limited income couldn't have been easy and I struggle to understand just how it was done.

Now don't get me wrong I am no Warren Buffett, but life for me is drastically different than what I was born with and it required a lot of effort to achieve what I have achieved through some adversity. I have a high school diploma, a career in fast food, which lead me to a career in the United States Navy. 

I spent 10 years onboard nuclear powered submarines, sailing the 7 seas and visiting the world. I met a ton of people who I give tremendous credit to the current level of success that I have in life today. While I attempted to take "some" college classes, I never received a degree; but this didn't stop me from achieving my dreams. 

As a result of serving in the Navy and doing so with exemplary service, the opportunity to become a civil servant became available to me. I would believe that was a result of the strong relationships I built while serving in the military and strong worth ethic demonstrated day in and out; perfect I was not but I did try my very best at all times.

Was I lucky? I guess you can say so IF the true definition of luck is when hard work meets opportunity. Only spending 1 year as a civil servant I had the fortunate opportunity to partner with a close friend to assist him at running his startup. With zero business skills and never running a business in my life, I took on the challenge and excelled until I made a successful exit nearly a decade after.

Ok, we get it - you have been successful - so what? To that I ask the question that is the title of this blog post - Who's To Blame? I am to blame. Rather I succeed in life or I fail miserably - ULTIMATELY I am to blame. Are there influences that caused me to fail? Sure. But being proactive in life, realizing that I have the ability to choose my response to any stimulus that comes into my life is up to me. To have a vision for my life, to put first things first, to think win/win or no deal, seeking first to understand before being understood, to have synergy with those around me, is all part of living an effective life.

I've lived through President Richard Nixon to President Joe Biden my life has gotten better year after year after year. From a national debt of $370B to $31T my life has gotten better and better. From the Vietnam war through all other US conflicts and the Global War on Terrorism the quality of my life has never been richer.  The clock continues to tick and I will continue to work day in and out tirelessly to make my life better day after day after day. 

If I fail I accept full responsibility for it, the government didn't cause me to fail and the devil didn't make me do it. If I fail it will be my own lack of discipline or desire to continue to create value and make a difference in my life and the lives around me. If I fail to blame anyone other than myself I just become part of the challenge society debates about daily from being homeless to prison.

Again do not get me wrong - I am not saying that the actions governments have taken haven't added to the state and condition of our world, what I am asking is that "we the people" take a look in the mirror and ask, what can we do about the situation? We've gotten comfortable blaming the government and abdicating our responsibility to resolve some of these challenges. We have concerns and many times we can't actually do anything about them. The focus must remain on taking actions daily that we can and getting small wins and allowing them to build confidence to take on the many concerns we might have.

I believe our world can be so much better for each of us, but are we willing to start with ourselves and then with our families to make it so? I hope so.