Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

Great stuff. My friend Natsha mentioned your site, and I checked it out, and it was yours! Too funny. Great to see you doing so well.

I agree 100% with what you have to say about being a CEO of your life. Great concept.

Cory (from Canby)

If you look at my latest balance sheet, I’m valuing the car at about $4,600, which should be less than the Edmunds.com third party trade-in value. I’ve been steadily decreasing the amount since its purchase.

Before GRS And Other Life Changing Experiences Took Place, I Too — Like The Author — Eagerly Dismissed The Concept Of “Self-Responsibility” Probably For Most Of My Life, And I Can Tell You From Personal Experience That You Will NEVER Succeed Financially Or Otherwise If You Take That Approach Towards Existence. Many Of Us Easily Fall Into “Victimization Traps” Wherein The “Government, World And/ Or Forces Beyond Our Reckoning” Appear To Be In Concert Against Us, Therefore Creating Our Contemporary “Bad Luck.” That Is A FAR Too Commonly-Utilized Scapegoat To Justify Our Current Lives & Relative Inaction In Regards To Change. Change Is MUCH More Difficult Than Inaction, But Well Worth Every Second Of Effort.

I Will Admit That 25% Of Our Lives Are NOT Influenced By Our Choices: Our Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Parents/ Family, Birth, Etc. But The Other 75% is VERY MUCH Within Our Scope Of Control; It All Depends On Opening Up Our Perception To The Reality Of What Truly Is: WE Are The Ones In Control Of Our Behaviour & Choices 24/7, Unless Excusable By The Insanity Defense, No Excuses. Now We Can Use This Knowledge To Either Dwell On That 25% And Hinder Our Potential Progress, Or Direct The 75% First-Hand To Ensure Likely Success. The Choice Is YOURS.

RE: #17 Smoovie: Your Point Is Well Taken, However, There IS A Choice Withtin The Realm Of Depression; Infact, There Are Many: To Seek Treatment Or Not; To Follow The Steps Of Treatment or Not; To Medicate Or Not; To Live Or Not, etc. Therefore, You Always Maintain A Sense Of Control In Your Life Despite The Odds. Admittedly, Perception Can Be A Tricky Thing To Master, But Once You Have, The Possibilities Of A Brighter Future Become Endless…

Great post!

Taking control of your life is an important step; good luck to all those starting on this path!

I would be hesitant to say that everyone’s financial situation is a result of their own choices. There are absolutely people who exist who cannot find well-paying work, regardless of their efforts, or whose medical conditions inhibit their ability to work. This post is certainly appropriate for a majority of people, who may not be aware of their choices, but a blanket statement of “You have all-powerful free will!” throws those who do not under the bus.

Look for a trusted friend, family member or other professional who can help you analyze your spending. My business specializes in analyzing spending and guiding my clients to make the best choice for them. Other professionals include some investment advisors or your accountant who prepares your tax return.

There’s also the idea that one needs to be in the right place at the right time, signalling that luck is at play… but there is much more to it than that. There is much you can control in your life to ensure you’re in the right place at the right time.

Personally, I took control early last year and my life has become so much better. I hope I never go back to being complacent.

At the time, I stood my ground and reiterated that this is how I see it. Nice to see this same approach being suggested here!

That’s my favorite paragraph in the article.

Whenever I see people saying that their goal is “financial freedom”, I always think, “well, then what? You can’t think of anything you’d actually like to *do* except have a balance sheet with a big number on it?” Money is just a means to some end, which can be anything. Having the means is nice, but doesn’t become useful until you choose an end.

One of the jobs of the company CEO is deciding which investments or assets are worth keeping and which should be done away with or sold off because they’re losing money.

For those who question the morality of the practitioners, it occurs to me that walking away from a mortgage is a sound business decision, akin to a CEO deciding that Division X simply isn’t generating enough profit to justify its existance. Just like the CEO will sell off, dismantle, or simply stop investing in Division X, the wise family CEO might decide that continuing to throw good money into an underwater mortgage is lousy business; and discards an unprofitable investment.

Company CEOs do this all the time, why can’t individuals? Anyway, thanks for the post.

In the meantime, I am working on being CFO of my finances.

Not too along I did the same exact thing you mention at the beginning of your post – blaming other people for how my life had turned out. I blamed my parents poor financial decisions, I blamed my ex-girlfriend and I even blamed my employer at the time. Blame was everywhere until one day I decided to realize that I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHOICES I HAVE MADE. I now have action plans (thus becoming the CFO of my life) to eliminate debt and finally live a financially fit life.

If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be able to pay off 14k in credit card debt in just under a year I would have thought you were crazy. Anyone can do it – you just have to “man up” and decide how you want to live the rest of your life. Thanks again for the post, I really appreciated it!

I’m going to direct my readers over here, because this is a really well-written piece.

I’d also add having gratitude for the things that go well that we have absolutely no control over.

While I agree that we need to actively steer our lives in the directions we want them to go, insisting that we are solely in charge of our destiny lacks humility. If we were characters in a Shakespeare play, this is where lightning would strike and burn our house to the ground the day after our escrow company failed to pay our insurance premium.