The Secret Sauce To Turning Your Life Around

You’re probably going to hate me for saying this, but if you’ve got a problem, I’d say most of the time, you let it happen.
“Oh my God, you’re saying I’m responsible for everything that goes wrong in my life? ” Sooner or later, partially or totally, yes, you are.
Remember, I’m not talking about acts of God or nature that are beyond our control. I’m talking about the things that are within our control.
“Harv, you don’t understand. My big problem is that we’re not making enough money to be able to even live and do this and that.”
Whose fault is that, your pet dogs?
It’s actually not even about fault. I’m looking for accountability.
When it comes to business stuff especially–technology, people; when it comes to every part of your business or career and your wealth–yes, you’re responsible for every single part of it.
“I’m not responsible for the fact that the economy went down and all my mutual funds went with it, and I’m just peeking up over the edge again right now, five years later.”
Yes, you are. Who decided to buy mutual funds? I didn’t buy any mutual funds; how come you did?
“My broker told me to.” Who picked the broker, the economy or you?
You are responsible for creating your life. You’re responsible for creating what happens for you. And that’s a good thing! If you weren’t responsible for that, that would mean you have no control. That means we’re at the whim of the wind, floating around with nothing going for us.
You take responsibility for your lot in life. You take responsibility for where you are right now and where you want to be.
You don’t take it as, “I’m not doing so well, I should just give up. I’m a bad person.”
If you’re willing to, right now say out loud, “I’m accountable for my life. I’m accountable for everything that happens in it, and I’m accountable for what I’ve created so far.”
If you can do this with full honesty and integrity, you’re better than 99% of people.
If not, no worries. I want you to try a quick exercise that seems ridiculous, but bear with me:
If you had an intention to be poor, how would you go about doing that? How do you get broke? Write down what you’d have to do.
I do this in some of my seminars. Participants would laugh and say, “I’m not going to do that. That’s crazy!” I would put people in groups and they would come up with stuff like:
“You’d have to spend more money than you have coming in.”
“You’d have to laze around most of the day and be ineffective and unproductive.”
“You’d have to give away all your money to people so that you have nothing left.”
“You’d have to make sure you don’t invest it all and put it all in a mattress so it can never grow.”
They would laugh and laugh. Then we’d read these answers collectively. All of a sudden, they recognized that we were dead serious here, and that 99% of everybody did exactly what was on their sheets of paper!
How did you get to where you are? Take a look at the parts of your life that are not working so well and observe, with detached non-judgment, what you had to have done to create the results you did.
If you can understand your strategy for creating the not-so-great things in your life that are happening now, then you have an opportunity to change it.
I’m going to say right now: for me, I’m about six or seven pounds over the weight I would like to be at. When I look in the mirror, I have a hard time not judging myself just a little bit!
Just keeping it real, folks. But I know exactly how I got here: I ate too much of the wrong things without burning it off fast enough. I know how to turn this around.
What’s going to be your turnaround? Share your stories and victories as well as your challenges…I want to hear from you!

If you are looking for a complete life turnaround, then I want to
invite you to my special web class: The Ultimate Life Makeover.
For Your Freedom,







I’ve not done bad in my life but it is mediocre life. I am bored with it. I’m here because I chose this way but do need to change it.
I m only working this particular job to get a paycheck and not benefiting them. My turnaround is to find and do what I love so I can be benefit to others.
Do you know what it is you want to do? What you love? Sometimes that’s the hard part..
Love, be happy with, and appreciate your life & all that is of value to your mission NOW. Live in that vibration, and move toward your mission every moment as you can *right now.* Not only will life feel better, but you’ll recognize it’s pretty amazing…and your new flow of energy will provide you results & attract more and more of the same magical good stuff : )
I’ve been in your place. What I did was find a creative outlet to counteract that frustration and boredom (even though I was busy). I turned to writing but anything works – even a hobby. If you want, there are lots of ways to volunteer (it doesn’t have to be formal). At 65, I am finally publishing eBooks – something I said for 10 years I’d do. It feels good to validate yourself and provide a way to benefit others.
I actually love my life but I am disgusted at being poor. I’m pretty healthy, have wonderful healthy children, decent home and job. I want to change to bad, I think about it all day. If only there was a way to get out of this poverty I would do it.
There is! : )
There is a way out of it. AND if you are saying you actually “love your life” you can NEVER change it. Why change what you love? That’s not quite how life works.
yes it is Debbi…one must love and appreciate what one has before one can receive what one truly wants…poverty is a negative word,try eliminating it from your vocabulary
I may have the answer you have been looking for Charis….if you are on Facebook….friend me and message me and we can
chat…Dawn Williams is the name to search:))
Try the Spiritual millionaire course, 6 jar system to manage your money, and if you put it to work, you will be rich faster than you can imagine! I did the course last year and my life is totally different! Thank you Harv for teaching us.
I appreciate your honesty Tonya. I feel the same way, you simply put it in words.
I love the assignment: “If you had an intention to be poor, how would you go about doing that? How do you get broke? Write down what you’d have to do.”
As soon as I read the words I immediately saw how much I do every day to keep myself poor! Looks like I now need to do something else!
Yup, that’s exactly what happened with me. Well, I know what to do to change my life, I know how to do it but I still haven’t done it even if I really want to! Kind of crazy! Let’s enroll in this free class and finally get off of our asses!
On the mark! And our learnings and success stories & the tools we use & the systems we follow and create for ourselves can benefit ourselves AND OTHERS, as our energy and evidence ripples outward. Yes or yes? Do it for yourself, and to help so many others along the way (if that resonates with you). Yay, T. Harv!
A powerful message and makes a lot of sense. For me I know how I got here and have been changing it all around now. I am currently building my multiple streams of passive income. I asked for it and it all came at once so now I have to manage my time and put in the work while continuing to reprogram my mind for wealth. I must admit I am so excited about abundance and look forward to everything coming my way. I set a goal to be the first millionaire in my family since there are none and I will teach my son so we can build generational wealth!! Learning all these new things about wealth, business and investments has really been life changing but applying them is what gets the results, I will always be a sponge for learning and growing because there’s always more and there’s always enough money to recieve. The universe is Awesome!!!!
what avenues are you getting passive income please
I would like to know how you turned your world around so I can find the same type of method. I’ve created a website with no activity. Thanks, Steve
Hey Steve. Try getting some major engine like YouTube to rip off samples of your site then post links to and from them. You will get more hits off the engine than just your site.
When I own it, when I am intentional I feel good. When I attribute it to something outside of myself, I feel anxious. I may not be able to control everything in my environment, but at least I can control my reactions to events and be intentional.
I am, at times, struggling to stay current with all my bills. My turnaround is to massively scale my Coaching business and buy more multifamily properties while learning to save more of what I have and being thankful to God throughout the process!
Of course we are all responsible for our lives, as we are the ones who choose what we create.
It can be tough at times to find that extra energy to go the extra mile, but if our ‘why’ is big enough we’ll find that energy… and the best bit is we’ll feel so good that we did!
I borrow money to purchase things that I really do not need.
Thank you very much for your wonderful message. Yes, we are accountable for our lives. No one else, but us!
I love the field I’m in but tired of the politics of working for someone else.
I see the short-comings but have no control to fix them.
my ideas and dreams are becoming more clear as I progress in the classes I have been following. I do not yet have the business mindset but will and continue until I do. I have much to offer and want to be able to help others not just live paycheck to paycheck.
I already used this “assignment” with someone in conversation this a.m., and used myself as an example. With them, it was with regard to health. “Sometimes we can say: what would I think, feel, or do to achieve poor health, and then have awareness as to whether we are doing any of those things. The opposite is true, too! : ) ” Thanks, T. Harv. You have such a great way of breaking down deep philosophies & life truths to their simple, teachsble core. Kudos & thanks!
I don’t know how many times I’ve told people that taking responsibility for their circumstance, although it feels difficult, is actually freeing. Because if we can admit we got ourselves where we are, we can get ourselves out.
You are one of my heroes!
I believe our results in life are the culmination of all the micro-decisions we make on a daily basis. For me, it therefore starts with taking full responsibility of those daily decisions.
That is true AND even top business and entertainment people will tell you there is some “luck.” For instance, someone can go on a million dates and meet no one, and another can bump into someone. Yes, they have to be open, but there is also chemistry, pheromones and getting along. Many non-motivated, conventionally fat or ugly people with little education and few goals are found beautiful and lovable by others, while many incredible people are alone. Then there are some families that leave businesses and buy first weddings and homes for their grown kids. There are others with little education that get work and training and others with education that are not the perfect fit for the job. There are some that can be the same yet are loved by some friends or a mate that way while others won’t like them. There are some with large families and others only children with no siblings, spouse or true friends. And to be accountable they’d have to go create it all. That’s a tall order.
Here is what helped me turn debt into surplus: I began to carry good old fashioned cash. I totaled all my grocery bills and figured out how much cash I need to carry for 1 week of groceries. That cut impulse shopping down to zero. I also put my husband on a budget and that helped! LOL Whenever I opened my wallet and saw a bundle of bills, I felt blessed and rich. Cutting out debit and credit card purchases really turned things around for me.
What an incredible realization!! To KNOW that I am accountable for my life and how I CHOOSE to live it is very empowering. It’s awfully strange to NOT live with this awareness as I live my life day to day, kinda like just “floating” along susceptible to all kinds of outcomes thinking these results are someone else’s fault when in fact,,,I DID IT!!! Whoa I HAVE THE POWER!!! Thanks Harv..Accountability is my sword.
Congrats Harv on finding the medium for your devine(ing) skills! Ask,seek and hug a tree…Love you and Wisdom more.XOXO.
I feel part of your book Harv went I read it,t first time is like my kind of thinking I was doing really well but I choce to separate from t small family business to find my real me even positive always you find obstacles on our journey to enrich our life’s,thanks for your book is amazing book going to. The point straight ……… I try my best to be a better person and reach my goals Harv you are part of my circle library books I love to reads books yours is one of the best….. Best for you and family …. Att: cipchamp ??????
I realize I’ve gotten to where I am from just “going with the flow”. Being in a relationship was all that mattered for years. When the last one failed miserably I was face to face with myself. This part is truly a gift, a chance to begin again. I am asking what I want. I am lucky that I have time to process, i guess. There are subtle progresses happening, inner strength, beingness, but I am still without drive and direction. I have set new goals, but I aren’t succeeding at fueling them. My Why is missing. My why has always been another. I want to reignite that spark that reason to get up every day and follow my chosen tasks to accomplish chosen goals.. Spark everyday, where are you?
Are you ready to do the hard work it takes to earn a life well lived?
Great lesson! Makes sense and looking at my situation can see it in spades…. My only question is now that I’ve dug this HUGE hole for myself and I want out.. How do I get out??
Spending more money than what is coming in is a very common one. I have always taken 100% responsibility for my life. I learned this from Joe Vitale. Thanks for sharing this wisdom to everyone else!
If it does not challenge you , nothing will change.
I find the most frustration I create is with technology. I get completely confused by websites demanding that I constantly reset my password. Then I forget the password again and have to do it all over again. Drives me nuts! I know…drama.
Also, I hate websites like Skype that have no place on their pages that might allow you to actually contact a human being. So then I go to their community blogs and find that there are dozens of people complaining of the same things.
Next time, I shall go to the blogs first before I decide to use their service. Wouldn’t it be great if companies in the public area had some integrity?? And I actually thought 5 steps in advance!
I chose to be an actress. I had no serious interest in money, investment knowledge nor intent of having my own side business (to support me in my acting and now film-making career until they do). Until a year ago. I thought I am talented enough to be given the Hollywood break and the money would follow. Now I have chosen to build my own e-commerce business AND create my acting opportunity by becoming a film producer.
It was an eyeopener. Now I understand why I am where I am. Thanx Harv
I am going to make my dreams a priority now. Earlier used to neglect them for the sake of my responsibities
I appreciate the thought and agree mostly, but sometimes we are *not* accountable. For example, losing jobs due to redundancy, the company we are working for going bankrupt (and losing all entitlements), being bullied at work which creates job loss, etc. Yes, all these have happened to me. Its very difficult to live on nothing. Each time, I applied for about 50 jobs a week (yes, you read that right), went to countless interviews, said all the right things etc…
Also, being in abusive relationships. Again, very complicated dynamics. Its not as easy as ‘just leave’. Far from it. I have studied narcissists and abusers and healed my wounds, so how can I still be accountable?
Sorry, I can’t agree 100%
Thank you Harv for your usful secret message.
Carmen says:
“I believe our results in life are the culmination of all the micro-decisions we make on a daily basis. For me, it therefore starts with taking full responsibility of those daily decisions”
I Think so! She is right.
We make each day , day by day all decisions as Jaakko Mattila, – who an artist from Oulu, Finland is – in his works every day makes.
Mattila creates abstract pieces on both paper and canvas, as well as large installation and other physical works of art, using carefully placed dots of color and utilizing single paint drips to create very graphic looking paintings.
Zero
https://www.jaakkomattila.fi/assets/site/images/canvas/nolla580.jpg
syngularity
https://www.jaakkomattila.fi/assets/site/images/canvas/singulariteetti580.jpg
sigma
https://www.jaakkomattila.fi/assets/site/images/canvas/sigma580.jpg
thanks for all again and enjoy the pictures
My challenges in life is greater than anyone can think. People deserted me when I required their help and I had to fight on my own to get each and every single thing to be done. This taught me the good lesson that Do not trust anybody for your need and work and slog yourself to attain your desired level/levels. This has made me something I wanted to be, the person who I am now. This is my success story in total for my life.
Great post Harv. Being accountable is vital to personal growth.
I let negative comments about myself from family members affect me. Which is exactly what those comments were designed to do! My bad. It happened when my health was failing and I was going through a hard time financially. I should have been smarter and I have continued to stay away from the negativity since then.
every exit has an entrance, sight seeing for the feel of the land is exciting!
Thank you Harv for this spectacular post.
My father taught me “Never spend more money that you earn” and I thought that was the only gold rule that I needed to survive in this life, it worked to have a comfortable and modest life and I am thankful for that, but my mind is different now.
My turnaround is to apply everything what I learned with you considering that there are many other rules that I can use to be rich.
Great reminder. We need this. Thank you, Harv. Bless you ♥
It’s crazy, because when you feel like you have burned yourself with a lack mentality for so long that when you want to love money and it be your best friend. It feels like you are picking up a burning stick and it’s going to somehow be a disaster. Changing my ingrained beliefs have been my biggest hurdle. They are so habitual! Any tips for that?
Ok so the way you have worded this makes perfect sense also coupling it in with a chat to someone the other night, accountability seems key in a lot of things and I can now see how through various patterns in my life which have been self-indulgent, miss led through ignorance on my part, ill-advised and also down right stupid has put me where I am although it is a whole lot better than before it is far from perfect. Yes, I still procrastinate, still go into a destructive cycle and also can not see at times the good in my life. Ok I am only human, and that then leads to the point you have made of accountability, it is me that created the debt; it is me that ended up as an addict through perceptions of inadequacy and blotting out emotions and for that I have to be responsible.
That’s definitely true. Period.
Thank you Harv 🙂
ELEGÍ SER MÚSICO PORQUE CREÍ QUE ESA ELECCIÓN ME LLEVARÍA A UNA BUENA POSICIÓN ECONÓMICA, SIN EMBARGO A MIS 55 AÑOS ME ENCUENTRO EN LA QUIEBRA, ES POR ESO QUE DESDE UN TIEMPO HASTA ACÁ HE DECIDIDO CAMBIAR MI MENTALIDAD DE MEDIOCRE POR UNA MENTALIDAD MILLONARIA, Y EN LA BÚSQUEDA DE ESE CAMBIO LLEGUE HASTA EL LIBRO LOS SECRETOS DE UNA MENTE MILLONARIA , Y MIRA QUE EN EL CORTO TIEMPO QUE TENGO LEYÉNDOLO COMO HA IMPACTADO MI VIDA INTERIOR Y HE TOMADO LA DECISIÓN DE QUE “SI QUIERO CAMBIAR”
in life – things are not simple or straight forward. mistakes happen – because of youth, in-experience and making the wrong decisions.
however – one can still improve, or use your words here T. Harv – turnaround.
learn from self, learn from lessons and learn from others.
over time, it is possible to make adjustments and corrections. on matters like business, wealth and investments.
life can be easier when one is control of the destiny.
I do not have wise words to say on this. just do your best