Achieve Everything You Want by Sam Silverstein

Photo by Samuel Clara on Unsplash

What if I told you that accountability was at the center of achieving everything you ever wanted? Does accountability really seem that powerful? 

Here’s the thing—what happens to us is based on the actions we take. Those actions are determined by what we believe. What we believe about people will determine the level of accountability that we have. And what we believe is at the very heart of determining what we achieve. Let’s discuss. 

Do you know what you believe? This is the most powerful question I have ever asked a leader or any audience I have spoken to. Action follows belief. So, if your beliefs determine your actions, and your actions determine your results, it only makes sense that knowing what you believe is not only important—it can be life-changing. 

Let’s say you believe, as one leader once shared with me, that you have 35 problems in your organization and each one has a first name. If that is how you see your people, then you will treat them accordingly, and you will get a specific result from that. 

If you believe that your people can solve your problems, then you will support them differently, empower them differently, commit to them differently, and you will get a different result. 

If a child in school sees everyone around them as the source of their problems, they will act one way. If that same person sees people as the potential solution to challenges, as teammates, as friends, they will act differently and get a different result. 

What you want in life will always be connected to what you believe about yourself, the people around you, both your and others’ capabilities, your responsibility to help them be successful, and more. 

What the accountable leader understands is that at the very core of their achievement, high or low, is a belief, right or wrong, that is leading directly to that result. 

Don’t just change what you are doing if you’re not getting the results you want. Question the beliefs that are leading to the actions that deliver those results and then evaluate if you should change those beliefs to achieve a different result. 

That really is accountability in action. 

Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. Get his book The Theory of Accountability and discover the formula that enables you to be an accountable leader in your life and organization. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.