--- title: Accountability To Self Is The Key To Success | The Sales Blog description: Accountability is the key to success! If you focus, you will see that many people who resist making cold calls also don’t ask for referrals. Read more image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_157827584.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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You might think of this concept as personal leadership, the idea that you are responsible for leading yourself. The idea that you should hold yourself accountable is [critical for success](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/improving-your-choice-of-how-you-get-to-success) and productivity. If you want to live an effective life, you have to hold yourself accountable for creating the results you want. ## For What Are You Responsible You may have someone you report to at work, and the person occupying that role may provide you with [goals](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/the-magic-power-in-setting-goals-so-big-they-scare-you), initiatives, projects, or tasks you need to complete. That person should never have to ask you to do the work required of you. Your accountability to yourself should always exceed your accountability to others. When you hold yourself accountable for the results you need to produce, no one else will ever have to. This is the mindset of personal leadership, and it undergirds your success and your productivity. - **Health**: You are responsible for your health and well-being. All of your results [start with your health](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/why-your-physical-health-must-come-first). Your energy, clarity, and stamina all begin with your physical health. You are accountable to no one other than yourself when it comes to your health, though it’s likely that others depend on you taking care of yourself. - **Wealth**: The wealth you create–or don’t create—is something you alone determine for yourself. Other than paying your taxes, no one is going hold you accountable for creating whatever level of wealth you want. No one is going to try to stop you from creating it, either. When no one is going to hold you accountable, you can be confident that it is an area where [you need strong disciplines](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/goals-you-reach-your-goals-when-you-adhere-to-disciplines). - **Growth**: The education system is not responsible for your growth and development, even though it might have helped get you started. Neither are your parents after a certain age. As much as you believe it your company’s responsibility to develop you, it isn’t. All of these areas are too narrow a view of growth and inadequate to the task. You alone are responsible for [reaching your full potential](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/you-are-pure-potential). - **Relationships**: A large part of success and happiness is found in relationships. The development and maintenance of those relationships is an area that requires constant and continuous investments of time and energy. The quality of those relationships depends upon your proactive efforts, without which they will be less than you want for yourself—and less for the people [who matter most](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/who-matters-most). - **Contribution**: It is hard to think about the contribution you want to make if you don’t have a vision for yourself and your life in the areas above and all the other areas of your life where you cannot expect anyone else to hold you accountable. Once you recognize your responsibility to yourself in these areas, you can start thinking about the contribution you want to make while you are here. ## That Which Gets Planned [That which gets planned gets done](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/some-thoughts-about-your-calendar-and-sunday-night). That which does not get planned does not get done. The antidote to “[The Drift](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/your-personal-growth-and-fighting-the-drift),” the idea that you allow external forces to drive your life where they will, is intentionality. If you give yourself two hours to plan your week, you will have a much more effective week than you would have should you have started each day without having already determined the most important outcomes you needed to create. The results you accomplish by planning will not only be more significant, but they will also be of a higher quality. As the Industrial Age ended and the Information Age began, we found ourselves working with our brains and not our and backs. We also found ourselves liberated from being directed by others in what work we do, how we do it, and when we do it. As oversight decreased, personal accountability increased. As it pertains to the more important areas of your life, such as your health, wealth, growth, and relationships, those have never belonged to anyone else. If you don’t have a vision for these areas, no one does. Without a plan, you won’t bring those visions to life. ## That What Gets Measured If you are going to hold yourself accountable, [you need a scorecard](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/success-your-scoreboard-always-tells-you-the-full-truth). You need a way to measure goals and your progress towards accomplishing them. Without a way to measure your results, you will never know how if you are progressing or if you need to make adjustments. Your scoreboard always tells the truth, which is why you might avoid looking at it. Being accountable to yourself requires that you step on the scale, even if you are not going to like what it tells you. It means looking at your finances when you know it’s not what you want it to be. In these areas, the metrics are known and easy to capture. But you need a way to keep score in other areas, like growth and relationships, even if the measurements you use are subjective. Your accountability to yourself requires that you take an accounting of how you are doing in every area that is important you, but most notably in the areas where there is no one else responsible for your results. If you are starting on this journey, you may want to look at your results more frequently, using a weekly scorecard to establish the disciplines. As you burn in the disciplines, you might move your reviews to a monthly cadence. ## No One Else No one should expect more from you than you. No one else should ever have to hold you accountable for your results, whether they are the personal categories here or the results you are responsible for at work. By holding yourself accountable, you prevent anyone else forever having to do so. ###### Tags: [Success](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/success) [Goals](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/goals) [2019](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2019) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on October 21, 2019 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at [iannarino@gmail.com](mailto:iannarino@gmail.com) [Follow me on my website](https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/) [Follow me on Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/iannarino) [![AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg?width=400&height=400&name=AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/authority) [![ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg?width=318&height=179&name=ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/free-cold-calling-video) ![hustler-ebook-v3-1-cover](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Free%20Resources/ebooks-2020/hustler-ebook-v3-1-cover.jpg?width=768&height=994&name=hustler-ebook-v3-1-cover.jpg) ### Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler You weren’t put here to survive. You were put here to do something and to flourish. You’re here to reach your full potential and to make a difference. [![DOWNLOAD EBOOK](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/5746f431-45b9-48ee-a8d8-e9a950e5ab3f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/5746f431-45b9-48ee-a8d8-e9a950e5ab3f) ## Are You Ready To Solve Your Sales Challenges? ![Anthony-Solve-Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Anthony-Solve-Sales.png?width=290&height=221&name=Anthony-Solve-Sales.png) Hi, I’m Anthony. I help sales teams make the changes needed to create more opportunities & crush their sales targets. What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2023-02-19T2:08:45 PM", "datePublished" : "2019-10-21 18:34:43", "description" : "Accountability is the key to success! If you focus, you will see that many people who resist making cold calls also don’t ask for referrals. 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