BLAME: The Most Expensive Free Pass

Jake Luehrs
May 03, 2025

ONE QUESTION

If nobody could witness your achievements, which of your current goals would you let go of?

ONE THING TO PONDER

I’d rather stay true to my values than get what I want.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

Not taking full responsibility for your life isn't some character flaw—it's our psychological safety switch.

The moment we say "This is 100% on me," we unlock a superpower that 95% of people will never access.

There is an upside of not taking extreme ownership, otherwise everyone would own their part.

Think about it. When you blame others, you get:

-An instant relief valve ("Not my fault!")
-A ready-made excuse ("What could I possibly do?")
-The sweet, sweet nectar of righteousness ("I was wronged!")

And heres the kicker: YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY BE RIGHT!

The unfortunate thing is that ‘I told you so’ AFTER something has already happened has never fixed a single problem.

If we’re' looking for positive change in your life, the only option is to look inward.

If we want to point ourselves in the wrong direction, we should look for everything outside of us for the solution.

Many won’t appreciate this question, yet here it is anyway:

In what area of my life am I secretly enjoying being the victim?

I’ve felt the sting of that question too.

There will always be something or someone to blame, always. Hear me on this, the blame being placed can be completely justified, it just doesn’t change things for yourself moving forward.

Blame keeps us trapped in the past while taking responsibility can launch us forward.

You can blame people, the market, the government, you name it, you can blame it, it's just not helpful.

If we choose not to take responsibility, everything in our lives will be dictated by circumstance and others…

Operating that way is giving away your greatest asset - your power to choose.

THE PATH FORWARD

The opportunity you have everyday is to expand your capacity to get different results.

There is significant freedom when you are willing to look at every area of your life and take ownership.

It seems counterintuitive, yet taking on responsibility gives us the most freedom. It gives us the opportunity for positive change.

Own what you can change, accept what you can't, yet always take 100% responsibility for where you are, it's where your freedom to choose begins!

As you look towards next week and a potential challenge you’re facing, just ask yourself these questions to move forward - If I owned this 100%, what would I do differently tomorrow?

Responsibility isn't about fault. It's about RESPONSE-ABILITY—your ability to respond.

And that, my friends, is the only true freedom any of us ever have.

Onward and Upward

PODCAST

Why Chasing an Exit Could Be Killing Your Business

THE ED MYLETT SHOW

We have a lot of entrepreneurs that are part of this newsletter community. This is a great lesson to gain understanding and foundational purposes of what you’re building and why you’re building it. Highly recommend it if you're building a business and looking to make a positive impact on the world through entrepreneurship.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think
by Breanna West

If you want to expose yourself to other perspectives that will actually help you evolve as a person and professional, this book will help you prompt different thoughts and considerations. We get so boxed in with how we think that we need questions and other perspectives to challenge if what we hold to be true is actually helpful or hurtful. Well worth it if you’re open to considering different ways of looking at things!