10 Easy Steps On How to Reach Any Goal.

Despite the fact that they are all admirable qualities, they are all little compared to what each of us needs most in order to achieve entire life success: No. 1 is taking responsibility for oneself.

In The Oz Principle, a New York Times bestseller from more than 20 years ago, we first shared our potent accountability theory with the world. We've been referred to as "the Oz men" by millions of people ever since.

Why Oz? In fact, a timeless tale that we both adored as children serves as the ideal metaphoric backdrop for our everlasting values.

The protagonists embark on the yellow brick road to the Land of Oz in the hopes of seeing an all-knowing wizard who will take care of all of life's issues for them because they feel victimized by flaws and circumstances and believe they cannot possibly change things on their own.

Don't allow your circumstances to define who you are and what you do is the central lesson of both their message and ours.

To put it another way, don't put your future prosperity in the hands of a magic wand. Relying on someone or anything to save you will just make you feel victimized, which will make it impossible for you to think effectively, creatively, or fast. Instead, take control of your situation and great, game-changing events will start to occur.

Here are 10 rules—highlights from our most recent book, The Wisdom of Oz—that will help you unleash the power of personal accountability to take responsibility for your actions, decisions, successes, and failures, whether you're looking to make significant changes in your life or just want to fine-tune it a little.

1. Change the definition of responsibility.

Do you cringe at the mere thought of accountability? The definition of accountability in the standard dictionary is "Subject to having to report, explain, or justify; being answerable, responsible," which only serves to perpetuate the negative (and uninspiring) perception of responsibility.

It shouldn't be a chore to stay true to yourself and your objectives. In order to succeed, you must see your accountability as a gift to yourself, not as something you have to do even though you detest it.

2. Consider it as critically important to your survival.

You start to find answers for problems you may have first thought were out of your control when you switch to a determined, creative mentality. Would you devise a novel plan of action to save your life if it meant it? Absolutely.

Your desired outcome or the issue you wish to resolve probably do not involve a life-or-death situation, but many innovative solutions are found when you put everything on the line. Your success and happiness are at danger even though your life may not be.

3. Don't let your circumstances control you when you are powerless to change them.

The Mali state army invaded the presidential palace on March 22, 2012, overturning the nation's 20-year-old democracy. During the upheaval, Islamic militants seized two-thirds of the nation, destroying the next democratic elections.

Yeah Samake, mayor of the small town of Ouélessébougou, which is located about 40 miles from the mayhem, claims that the coup's timing was terrible. "When I entered my living room, I passed out on the couch. My wife assaulted me by kicking me. I found it hard to believe. I said that I was trying to win her sympathies. You're kicking me, why? She only said, "Get moving and do something.

The important thing is to get up off the couch, whether you manage it on your own or need a little prodding from somewhere else.

4. You must desire something more than you desire something else.

You will pay a price for everything, including your time, patience, energy, and resources. It's normal to want good things without having to pay for them. For example, you might want to lose weight but not be willing to exercise or give up your favorite foods. Despite not wanting to put in the extra time, you desire a promotion. Success occurs when you reach a tipping point and start to want what you want more than you fear what it will cost you to get there.

5. Stay up and resist the pull of gravity.

It appears that tough issues and difficult obstacles have enough mass to drag you away from achieving your goals, much like the big planets that produce gravity and pull everything toward them. As the obstacles become more and more difficult, this force grows stronger. Don't yield.

6. A brave move is needed for every discovery.

The family of Jim Carrey, an actor, once camped out on a relative's yard since they were so poor growing up that they had to live in a van after his father lost his job. However, Carrey had confidence in his own future and the goals he had for himself.

According to the legend, early in Carrey's troubled humorous career, the actor drove his beaten-up Toyota to the Hollywood Hills, where, while gazing out over Los Angeles, he wrote himself a check for $10 million. He wrote "For acting services rendered" on the notation line and tucked the card into his wallet. Carrey reaffirmed his personal resolve at that very moment. Carrey kept his pledge to himself and over the next five years, he became a household name. His salary per picture at the height of his career was $20 million.

7. Request opinions.

Accountability is created through asking for feedback and criticism. To make this work, you'll need to persuade the mentor, friend, coworker, or significant other to whom you're making the pitch that you actually want to know what he thinks.

If the evaluator is really honest, he needs to know that there won't be any negative consequences. To avoid blind spots and get better results, feedback is crucial.

8. Consider whether you are an owner or a tenant.

Because we don't have as much invested or at stake in temporary items, we care more about the things we own than the things we rent. Ever cleaned a rental vehicle? Obviously not.

Whether it's a car, a job, or a relationship, when you own something, you make an investment that typically requires making some sort of sacrifice. Renting allows you to leave without losing everything. Go all in if you're truly dedicated to reaching your goal.

9. A lot of dirt will need to be moved.

It's like digging for gold—finding solutions is like that. Have you watched Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel? The lives of contemporary miners are followed as they attempt to strike it rich while competing with nature, time, and other miners. Before the actual mining even begins, miners must first remove the top 6 to 12 feet of rock and earth.

They find gold 6 to 12 feet below this seemingly pointless, unpleasant surface. Gold may be found in greater quantities as miners process more pay dirt. In the end, they had to move tons of dirt to uncover just 1 ounce of gold. Although laborious, it pays off handsomely.

10. ut it into action.

How do you go about doing that? How can you actually make personal accountability work for you? Wouldn't it be simple if there was just one switch you could flick? A simple button you could press? Maybe you could use an app? There is, in fact, a flipping magical switch-app-button. It's known as choosing a course of action and following it.

You can choose to achieve your goals or to remain trapped in the victim-blame cycle.