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Personal Responsibility.

These are two words in America that everyone thinks they live by, but only a handful truly do. People don't take personal responsibility for their actions, they usually set the blame somewhere else. There is a reason in this country we have successful people and people who don't like those on top. Success doesn't mean money, status, or even job title. Success is happiness and assurance that I control my own destiny in life and nobody will determine that road for me. I believe this starts with personal responsibility at a very young age. I have laid blame on myself for things that were my fault, even when at the time I was sure that it was the fault of someone else. Being late for work, failing an exam, or missing a deadline at work, all of these things can easily be blamed on an outside influence. But there is something brewing in America today that is larger than any of that. It's a combination of all these small things building over time and generations to get to where we are today. It's not a stretch to say that we've become so dependent on other people, including our government, to get us through the tough times that we have lost sight of what our true responsibility is.

If we took a step back in time, we would see that parents and our grandparents had to work extremely hard for what they earned. It was never given to them, nor did they want it from anyone else. My grandparents tell me stories about days when they had no health insurance, food stamps, or running water for that matter. They were poorer than almost any American is today, but they survived. Why? Personal responsibility. They had problems and they solved them. One by one, they took what was in front of them and dealt with it. They live better today than most Americans, not because someone gave it to them, but because they earned it!

Everyone in this great country is born exactly the same. The rearing and experiences of that child are what molds them. Every child is surrounded by people that they learn from. If you teach a child that the only way he can succeed in life is by working hard, then he'll probably succeed. But if you teach a child that she can get things the easy way, she'll most likely choose that route. It all starts at the top and trickles down. Too many children today see that it's okay to freeload while still watching cable television or talking on the latest cell phone. It's a normal way of life for many of these children being raised. As I mentioned before, personal responsibilities cover many areas of life. Every decision you make in life will group together to mold the person you become. Every decision matters in the end. So make the best choices you can and you can't blame anyone else. Teach your children to work hard for what they earn, cherish the things they have, and one day they too will be a much happier person because they won't depend on anyone else to do it for them.

Learn more about this author, Rick Robinson.
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