“When it comes to initiative, there are really only four kinds of people…”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Beyond Talent (p. 55). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

So, which one of these is true of you?

John says, “

            1. People who do the right thing without being told

            2. People who do the right thing when told

            3. People who do the right thing when told more than once

            4. People who never do the right thing, no matter what.”

He goes on, “Anyone who wants to become a talent-plus person needs to become the first kind of person.”

He says, “British civil servant and economist Sir Josiah Stamp remarked, ‘It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.’ That is true. Whatever we do—or neglect to do—will catch up with us in the end.”

Later he says, “Greek philosopher Socrates said, ‘To move the world we must first move ourselves.’ Show me those who neglect to take responsibility for their own lives, and I’ll show you people who also lack initiative. Responsibility and initiative are inseparable.

“Everyone experiences setbacks. We all face obstacles. From time to time, we all feel that the deck is stacked against us. We need to show initiative anyway. Dick Butler asserted, ‘Life isn’t fair. It isn’t going to be fair. Stop sniveling and whining and go out and make it happen for you. In business, I see too many people who expect the financial tooth fairy to come at night and remove that ugly dead tooth from under the pillow and substitute profitability just in the nick of time at the end of the fiscal year.’ There’s a saying that great souls have wills but feeble ones have only wishes. We cannot wish our way to success. We need to take responsibility and act.”

So, have you taken responsibility?  Have you?

Yes, yes!