Take Ownership: Have Pride in What you Do

Take Ownership

August 20, 2018

Welcome back to the blog! We have been getting into some very technical stuff recently, so I wanted to soften that up a bit. Today we are going to talk about taking ownership seriously. By that, I mean OWNING whatever it is that you put your name on. Take pride in what you do.

For example, at work/school you can do what most people do: the bare minimum to fly under the radar. OR, you can take extreme ownership of every duty you have and make sure that it gets done to the absolute best of your ability. Rather than half-assing two things, whole-ass one thing and do it right. Not only will this make you look good, but it will make you FEEL good, and I think that is way more important.

The feeling of accomplishment is huge, it is why we make our bed in the morning (to accomplish something as soon as we wake up!), and its the fuel that keeps us running. If you never get anything done, whats the point? If all you do is consume and you never work, create, or teach, what is the point of existing? I don't know. This is why I like to take OWNERSHIP of the things I do. From schoolwork to posting on the blog to completing projects at work early, I am driven by the fact that if my name is going to be attached to something I want it to look GOOD.

Think about the things that you can take ownership of. Your Work, Classes, Relationships, Hobbies, etc. When you are focused on one, go at it 100%. Don't be lazy, unless you are comfortable with people knowing that you aren't going to put your all into it. Just note that this does not mean that you have to do things for people that you wouldn't ordinarily do, you don't have to let others walk all over you. But if you do agree to do something like take on an extra project at work, be willing to pull out all the stops to get it done and get it done right.

In personal finance, this means that you have to do your research! If you are going to commit to buying a stock or bond, you better have done your research. What does this mean? Reading through annual/quarterly reports, analyzing assets, liabilities, income, and expenses, making sure you are buying at a fair price. All of this is work, and you need to take ownership of it! Do this work and embrace it, because by doing it right you will not only gain experience and knowledge, but your investments will perform well and make you MONEY. Achievement, pride, and money, what more can you ask for from an investing experience? All because you put in the time and took ownership of your money.

Want to go the passive investment route? You can take EXTREME ownership of that too by analyzing the Exchange Traded Funds or Mutual Funds you are investing in, understanding them down to their core. Who runs the fund? What is the expense ratio? What are the top 10 holdings? What % of the fund is in the top 10 holdings? By going through all of these details and understanding what you are investing your hard earned money in, you are taking ownership. On the other hand, you can just throw your money into a random fund that you don't really understand, and when it goes down in price you can blame the stock market for being corrupt. (Ring any bells?)

All in all, I think that taking ownership comes down to having the maturity to take responsibility. If things don't pan out as you expected them to, you can say that you put your best effort in and learned something. In that regard, you can still feel accomplished even if you get something wrong or end up making a mistake. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are the best learning tools in the universe. If you are interested in learning a bit more about how you can take ownership in everything you do and use your mistakes as a tool to learn and succeed in life, check out the book Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio In the book, Ray, who is arguably one of the best investors in history, details how he leverages his everyday mistakes to make him a better investor, husband, friend, etc. It is a great read, I loved the book and I think you will too!

MDAS

If you thought this was helpful, terrible, or somewhere in the middle, please leave me feedback in the form of a Direct Message on instagram @MakeDollarsAndSense, or feel free to send me an e-mail/text to the information on my Home Page. I truly appreciate constructive criticism and opposing views, so bring em on!

P.S. New blog posts coming your way every Monday!

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