"The buck stops here!" We’ve all heard this saying before at some point in our lives. The phrase was popularized by US President Harry Truman. It refers to the fact that Truman felt the President had to make decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. Today, business leaders, parents, teachers, and individuals from all walks of life use this statement. In essence it means responsibility is not passed beyond the person making the point.

We have the freedom to choose our decisions but we are not free from the consequences of those decisions. It is the fear of the responsibility of the consequences, often unknown to us, that creates a tendency in people to pass the responsibility of making decisions to someone else … even when those decisions affect our lives. Passing on responsibility or "passing the buck" is prevalent in today’s society.

It can be seen in all aspects of life:

• There are thousands of lawsuits filed every day in which defendants are looking to escape responsibility for their decisions and other lawsuits in which plaintiffs are seeking to place responsibility for their own actions on someone else, usually for financial reward. For example, the cigarette industry is a perfect example of this. The companies (defendants) deny responsibility for releasing products they knew was unhealthy, and smokers (plaintiffs) blame the cigarette companies for their decision to smoke two packs a day for forty years.

• The investment world is comprised of brokers, agents, and sales people. These individuals are necessary to the process but it is interesting to note that the massive number of these individuals is evidence of a "passing the buck" mentality. How many people do you know who are invested in the stock market and yet know nothing about their investments, the potential rewards, or the risks? Lots of them. Most people would prefer to abdicate the responsibility of making financial decisions so they choose to put their financial future in the hands of someone else.

• Many of our government social programs exist because people want to pass the buck. Some would rather leave the responsibility of managing their money in the hands of the government until they retire in hopes there will be an income from that money during retirement. Additionally, other programs exist because people feel it is easier to give money for a program than it is to be personally responsible for reaching out to those in need. It is easier to say, "Government is responsible for taking care of the poor." But, where is our own accountability in the existence of the poor?

The list goes on and on but you get the point. In order to avoid taking responsibility, we create excuses and "pass the buck" for many decisions. What excuses do you use? "I am too young." "I am too old." "I have to listen to my parents." "I have to listen to my boss." "I don’t have enough money" "I don’t have enough time" "I’m not smart enough" "I have no control, it’s in my DNA" … and gain the list could go on and on. Think about it, what are your most common excuses?

Understand this. Excuses we give ourselves or others, are not statements of truth. They are a commentary about a current circumstance that we use to not take responsibility. These circumstances have no power over us and they are meaningless until we give them meaning. The meaning we place on an event or circumstance changes everything and here’s the best part: the meaning we give to anything is subjective because it’s a choice.

Is 65 years old too old to build an international business that will become a worldwide recognized brand? If you answered yes, don’t tell Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC.

Do you believe that only 3 months of schooling is an excuse to not become one of the greatest inventors and minds in human history? If you’re thinking, yes … it’s a good thing Thomas Edison didn’t give his circumstances the same meaning as you did.

You can see from these two examples that circumstances such as being 65 or not having any formal education are simply facts until we give them meaning. Being 65 could mean "I’m too old" or it could mean "I have more experience than all the other people who want to do this." Not having education could be "I’m not smart enough" or the meaning could be "I haven’t been limited by what I’ve been taught so I can be more creative."

Imagine you have 3 boxes sitting next to each other. They are small, medium and large. The only way you can determine their size is when you RELATE them to something else to give them their meaning. If you took away the small box and replace it with an extra-large box, it INSTANTLY makes the large box a "medium" box and the medium box would appear "small".

This is the same thing we do in our lives. We constantly relate our circumstances or ourselves to others to decide on the meaning we give something. When faced with any circumstance you likely provide a meaning and if that meaning is an excuse for why you can’t do what you really desire, then ask yourself the following 3 questions:

1. Am I 100% sure, beyond even the slightest doubt, that this excuse is true?

2. If it weren’t true, what other meanings could this event have?

3. Which meaning would empower me the most to live my dream?

It is within you to be, do, and have all the things you desire. If it’s to be, it’s up to you. Don’t give your power to create your life to someone else or some circumstance in your life. Instead, make the decision now to choose personal responsibility for your life. Remember, whether you make the decision or you pass that decision on to someone else there is an outcome … You can choose to be empowered, or to be a victim. When you make the decisions in your life, you are empowered to change the outcome based on what you experience. However, if you abdicate the decision making in your life to someone else, you fall victim to their preferences; their wants and desires. If you are currently experiencing the results of someone else’s decision, you are still at choice to decide to continue on this path, or embark on your own.

You are the source for creating your own abundance. There is no circumstance that has dominion over you until you give it that power.

In this world there is ample opportunity to create love, life, abundance, prosperity, and happiness for yourself and others. By creating an attitude of abundance for yourself and in your own life first you can then truly be a role model for others.

Creating your own abundance is an "inside" game. The buck has to stop with you!