If you want to be successful, you need to have the ability to assume responsibility, and be open to taking ownership of new projects that come your way.

An older person once said to me, "Mike, when I was young, the boss or leaders had to be worried about the young people coming in and taking their jobs. Today, we're trying to give them our jobs—and they don't want them!"

If you want to be successful, you should be annoying people! You should be asking for extra work. You should be working extra and not even getting paid for it! Don't you think you can move up faster in an organization if you show this amazing effort to learn more? Are you letting them know how much you want it? You can't sit back passively waiting for the world, waiting for something to happen, and then wonder why you're not moving anywhere. You need to be aggressive and push your way into the doors. They want to give it to you, trust me. Leaders want to see other leaders take ownership.

• Accept the opportunity. If I give you a job, it's because I know you can do the job, and I know you might need to be trained. If you don't accept the work, and sit back and wait, you'll always be just where you are now.
• Delegate when necessary. There needs to be a system. As you assume responsibilities and they take up more of your time, you'll need to delegate some things to other people. Don't do anything you don't need to be doing. In my office, I don't do anything that somebody else can do.
• Get authority. Make sure you're trained to do your job, and that you are authorized to make decisions.
• Keep your boss informed. Your superiors need to know what's going on with your progress.
• Pathway to future success. Become known as a go-getter. They should be talking about you!
• Stop with the excuses. If you want to grow, make accommodations in your attitude, your workflow, and assume the responsibility.
• Under-commit and over-deliver. Always give a timeline that you know you can beat. Deliver early.
• Understanding responsibility. What is the task?
• Understand the timelines. Know your priorities and have a plan.

There's no such thing as inactivity unless you're planning on being out of a job or going out of business! Accept responsibility for the tasks that are assigned to you, and make adjustments in your attitude or workflow to accommodate them. Change means you're growing and you've tried something. The truly successful person who cares about their career will be open to new tasks, expanding your responsibilities, and finding ways to add value.

CAUTION: If you have skills and knowledge and keep accepting responsibility, you can fail miserably! You can fail if you assume too much. You will become overwhelmed. You'll start dropping the ball, making mistakes, omitting the small details, and missing deadlines. You must know when to push back and say you can't take it on at all, you can't take it on now, or you can do it, but later. If you assume a responsibility, then you need to delegate from your current tasks the things you don't need to be doing personally so that you can deliver.