Power Publishing

New Blog Site

Hello All!,

After a few months of not having enough time to blog regularly, I've started a new blog site that will add more meaningful content in addition to my own blogs.  I also hope this site will encourage more authors to PR their books.  In addition, the new blog site, "howtopublishabookblog.com" will be integrated into Razorpages.com, a free promotional site for authors.  I hope you'll visit both sites and I hope that as the traffic grows, these sites will help you, the self-publishing author, get more exposure.   Thank you,

Phil Davis, President, ZDocs

More from the Wall Street Journal report

Yesterday I relayed some information I heard on the radio about the average numbers of books sold per title.  In today's post, I want to relay one other message that report made about selling books.  The reporter said that if the average number of books an author can expect to sell going through mainstream publishers and mainstream distribution i.e. bookstores, is only 500 books, then maybe an author should promote his or her book in alternative channels like Amazon.com.

If you've spent any time on this blog site you have probably come across the name Razorpages.  Razorpages is a web 2.0 style community blog site.  The community is made up of authors who want to promote themselves and their books through blogging, podcasting and using other online promotional tools like book trailer videos and virtual book tours.

The main point I want to make today is this: authors should use every tool available to promote their books.  If you believe your book might have mass appeal, you should get a copy of Writer's Market (www.writersmarket.com) and start sending off query letters (on average it takes about 18 months to get accepted by a mainstream publisher).  Whether you decide to pursue mainstream publishers or not, I personally believe you should print up 250 books, make an audio and ebook, and start selling yourself.

Should you use Amazon.com? Maybe.  Should you use Razorpages.com?  Maybe.  Should you start your own blog site? Maybe.  Should you create a book trailer and distribute the video out through Youtube.com and Google video? Maybe.  Should you start creating contact information from potential readers so you can send them emails from time to time? Maybe.  Should you do a virtual book tour? Maybe. 

I think you get the point.  While I would have liked to have answered each question above with a resounding "Yes!," most authors do not have unlimited resources to promote their books.  So what we all have to do is be aware of what tools are available, what the cost/benefit of using each tool is, and then create a marketing plan to sell as many books possible.

The good news today is that there are lots of ways to self-promote your book and I encourage authors who print with ZDocs to evaluate which ways are best for them.  For example, Amazon has a couple of different programs.  One program is free, but then Amazon takes 55% of the sale price when a book sells.  The other option is you can pay $49.00 a month and then pay only 5 to 10% of the sale price. (To find out more I recommend you visit www.amazon.com and read about their advantage programs).

I have seen some authors promote their books on their own website or blog site and then refer potential buyers to Amazon to purchase books.  The reason the author does this is to have Amazon handle the fulfillment.  Although I think you should be on Amazon, I don't like this strategy.  The reason is that if a person comes to your website and you convince the reader he needs to have your book and then you send him to Amazon and give Amazon 55% of the sale price, I think that commission is too high since you are the person who found the customer.  If Amazon finds a customer for you, then paying the 55% is fine.  So if you are going to refer people to Amazon, then I recommend you use the $49.00 plan and lower the commission you pay. 

A better alternative for fulfillment is Razorpages because the monthly subscription fee is only $19.95 a month and Razorpages takes just 10% of the sale price and you still get complete fulfillment services.  I want to make the point very clear, however, that I recommend authors use any and all the tools available to them to help them find their readers and sell books. 

If you are an author and you have any questions about what tools are available, feel free to email me at phild@zdocsonline.com and we can set up a free 30 minute consultation.

The Average Number of Books Sold

I've ran a few articles on how many books you need to sell to be considered a best seller and I think the information posted on this blog (with a little help from some others) is fairly accurate.  Today on the way to work, I was listening to the Wall Street Journal on the radio and the reporter said that the average number of books sold per title is 500. 

The reporter started off by talking about memoirs so it was unclear if his data was only related to that genre.  But he said that the survey tracked 120,000 titles that were published and sold in bookstores.  This 120,000 number should reflect all titles published in a year by mainstream publishers.  I've seen this number reported from 46,000 titles to 196,000 titles, so I'm going to assume that the reporter was talking about all titles, not just memoirs.

Only 500 copies.  I was surprised to hear that 500 was the average number of books sold.  In an earlier post, I relayed information I received from another source that said the average number of books sold was 5,000.  This number seems more realistic to me.  This number of average books sold seems to be a moving target.

Regardless of what the true number is, the fact remains that for new authors and for new books, finding the right number of books to print is a critical decision.  For years now I've been consulting with authors on the right number of books to print and unless the author can prove he or she has a proven way to sell thousands of books, I like to recommend 250 copies. 

When an author starts talking about printing up 1,000 copies, the question I ask her is how does she plan to sell her books.  If the author has a distribution channel (like holding weekly seminars, a large email list, etc.) then printing a larger quantity may be the best strategy, but for most authors sticking to the lower quantities of 250 or 500 is the best plan.

You may wonder why I recommend 250 and not true print-on-demand (one book at a time) or say 50 copies or 100 copies.  I like 250 copies because the cost per book is relatively cost effective compared to printing up 50 or 150 copies.  I also like the 250 number because when an author has 250 books sitting in his living room then he will be more motivated to get out and promote his book.

It generally takes about 10 business days to print and bind 250 books.  So if you keep a close eye on your inventory and order books 10 days before you expect to be out of stock, then you should not have any difficulty keeping up with demand. 

Destined to Succed -- PrincipleTen --The Success Process

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle ten:

Now that you have established what success is for you, what is your most important personal or professional goal, that is consistent with your definition? Actualizing your goal is the basis for the final principle of success.

The tenth principle to realize is that you actualize your goals through the experiential mastery of the success process.

The Five Step Success Process

1) Establish a goal that is specific, definable, measurable, and time-dependent.

Publish and sell 100,000 books in a twenty year period.

2) A detailed plan for achieving that goal. (What is to be done.)

i.) Submit manuscripts for publication to 10 publishers.
ii.) Establish your own publishinbg company. (just in case)
iii.) Develop a highly professional manuscript.
iv.) Have it corrected by a professional editor.
v.) Engage an expert in writing to help you perfect manuscript.
vi.) Have it printed by a professional using an online cover designer.
vii.) Market, Market, Market, Market, Market yourself!
viii.) Use Razorpages.com for markewting directly to the public.

3) Define the resources necessary to achieve your goal.

i.) Your time.
ii.) Your money.
iii.) Your creativity for distribution unique to you.
iv.) Your friends and relatives.
vii.) Acquire whatever you need as dictated by your plan.

4) Implementation of the plan recognizing that surprises will and tests will occur.

i.) Just do it!

5) Live in your future state of success daily.

i.) Visualize it.
ii.) Taste it.
iii.) Feel it.
iv.) Say it to yourself 50 times a day until you begin to achieve it.
v.) Smell the scent of success.

Combining a clearly defined goal with the experience of it held over time practically assures your success. Try it!

This is the last principle in this series of Destined to Succeed. Good luck!

Destined to Succeed -- Principle Nine -- A Success State of Mind

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle nine:

The ninth principle of success is:

Achieving your goals is driven by the authentic adoption of a Success State of Mind.

There are two defining events in my life that helped me to establish a "Success State of Mind." The first is associated with my undergradate education at Dillard University-- a Historical Black College or University. These institutions are commonly referred to as HBCUs. Part of the educational process was a weekly requirement to attend Vespers. I thought this was Protestant brainwashing, since I was Catholic attending this Protestant-supported institution.

Whether I was resistant or not about attending, those weekly messages by invited Black scholars, clergy, and business people got through. They were principally about successfully graduating, giving back to others, and succeeding "in spite of the comprehensive inequities that existed." Unfairness or outright discrimination was not acceptable as an excuse for not succeeding.

"You have a responsibility to succeed because you stand on the shoulders of giants," they would say. I assumed the giants were people like Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Phyliss Wheatley, and Harriet Tubman to name a few. The point is, it worked! At least on me.

The second defining event was associated with my graduate school attendance at the University of California at Berkeley in chemistry. I was the only Black student of 120 in my class. They were an intimidating, competitive, and cut-throat group. If you missed a lecture, no one gave you their notes. If you did a problem assignment, as part of the course grade, no one shared. With the exception of a few students, "it was all about me."

At the graduate student reception, I told a guy from Harvard that I was a graduate of Dillard University. He replied, "Dillon! Where's that?" I replied, that it was a small private school that was easy to into, but hard to graduate from. He didn't see the humor either.

It was then and there I knew I would have to call upon "something," in addition to hard work. My Dillard "brainwashing" kicked in. "Be somebody!" Don't be intimidated!" "Don't expect fairness!" And on and on, my programming took over. Fortunately, at Berkeley, all gaduate students were treated the same--like hired help to make our research professors famous. (I recently made this comment, as humor, at an academic institution, and they vowed to never have me back again!) In return, we got Ph.Ds. Not a bad exchange of quid pro quo.

The flip side of this Berkeley attitude, at the time, was that there were no "minority enhancement programs." My Black colleagues and I refer to this period as "the pre-Black days." To say the least, I was determined to succeed or die trying. By the way, there were some graduate students and professors who were helpful, supportive, and crucial--Brad, Charlie, Pimentel, Johnston, Wade, Julien, and a Swedish guy whose name I can't remember.

So, what's the point of this historical account of my undergraduate and graduate education? The point is, these experiences reinforced and solidified my attitude of success, established by my parents. I'm sure most of you have your own stories of developng a mind-set of success. So, the point is, having this mind-set coupled with the skills, competencies, and desire to continually learn, practically ensures success. It's like my grandfather used to constantly tell when I would get into trouble.

"Boy, straighten out your mind and your butt will follow!"

By the way, he used another, more direct word instead of butt. So, what are some cognitive and behavioral skills of a success state of mind?

1) Clearly define what success is so that "anyone" who reads your description can understand it, without question.

2) Create a mental picture of your success--a project, venture, degree, relationship, or whatever--and focus it in your mind everyday.

3) Experience how you would "feel" in this successful state--excited, elated, satisfied, encouraged, confirmed, or whatever. Make sure that feeling is part of (2) above.

4) Define, visualize, and acknowledge those who assist and support your success. Include them as part of (2) and (3).

5) Remember, all of life is a test. Any goal you set for yourself will be tested. These tests are to confirm the extent of your commitment and success state of mind. Use them for learning opportunities.

6) Regardless of popular books or other sources, "there is no winning or losing." There is only participating and learning. Are you a participant or an observer?

Check out the new Flash programs on DOWNLOADS. They are awesome!

Razorpages--the independent author marketing site--will be up July 1, 2006.

Destined to Succeed -- Principle Eight -- Interpersonal Dynamics

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle eight:

The eighth principle states:

The ability to accomplish anything through others is in direct proportion to the quality of relationship that exists -- reflected by respect, trust, and authenticity.

The foundation upon which all interpersonal skills are based is relationship. As I have written previously, a relationship is an unconditional committment to growth, success, and well-being of someone. The quality of a relationship can be measured by the number of expectations we have of others. The more expectations, the poorer the quality of relationship. The fewer expectations, in practice, the greater the quality of relationship with another person.

For example, I have a friend from the Ukraine who is about as honest and straightforward as anyone I have ever met. Whenever she shares about herself, there is no judgement or defensiveness. Just a simple statement of fact. Her verbal, emotional, and subliminal communications are all aligned. The same is true when she tells me something about myself that supports my learning and growth. I find it easy to be non-judgemantal or neutral about her mannerisms and behaviors I have previously found annoying about others in my life.

Probably, the most important aspect of our relationship is the fact that we can spend long stretches of time together without the necessity of verbalizing anything; and yet feeling we had a great time together. The same is true with some of the people I have worked with over the years in my business. It's almost like we telepath all the time. At least telepathy is rarely manipulative or dishonest.

The point of this blog is that relationship is the basis for any collective human endeavor. If two or more individuals are togeher, aligned, and focused, the relationship has the power of a laser. And we all know that focused energy is the basis of manifestation. Anything we can dream becomes possible.

Since we are into the Age of Connectedness, cooperation, collaboration, and cross-functional integration are the keys to individual and collective success. Each of these characteristics is based upon the quality of relationship that exists. Therefore, the ability to create in-depth, meaningful relationships, based upon trust, honesty, and respect are the essential elements for success.

What follows naturally from such relationships is communication with the power to transform self and others. In this sense, communication is simply any expression of a relationship. Whether it is holding hands, non-judgemantal listening, talking, or telepathing. However we express a relationship is communication. So, relationship and communication are inextricably coupled. To consider them separate in any way is meaningless.

When we learn to harness the power of naturally relating to others with honesty and authencity, then we will have learned the most important characteristic of success.

FYI: Check out the new Flash Program on the tab titled DOWNLOADS for "Spirituality in the Workplace." It is a free download to be used any way you choose other than for profit-making. The Laws of Karma govern your use!

Destined to Succeed -- Principle Seven -- Service

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle seven:

The seventh principle states:

Within your innermost self, beyond your beliefs and values, is a source that drives your life in service to others.

At one time or another, we have all tapped into this source. This source has no reason or justification before the fact; although we may be acknowledged after the fact. Neither does it involve any self-serving, altrustic motives.

I remember several years ago when we had an early Spring snow runoff in Salt Lake. People showed up spontaneously to help with sand bags, provide food, and help out with no official leadership necssary. Of course, politicians were the first interviewed for TV as if there was something important they had to say. It's like the old saying, "I'd better get in front of the parade so they'll know I'm leading!"

This spontaneous act of service to each other is probably the most fulfilling experience we can have as human beings. Nine-eleven was a prime example of what I'm describing; where many even made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Service is the fundamental acknowledgement of our inherent connection to each other when all defenses, prejudices, and ethnocentric beliefs are laid aside. It is the ultimate expression of success as a human being. It is a spiritual experience. (I have discussed the word spiritual in previous blogs.)

The more you experience success in your life, the more you will feel a need to "give back." Not for acknowledgement, but because you've achieved the luxury to think and live beyond survival. When I speak of serving, I'm not thinking of changing the world if that's not your thing, but of influencing people and situations around you that lead to greater understanding, learning, and human compatibility.

The amazing thing about serving each other is that we might even discover that the service we provide for others today may be exactly what we need tomorrow. Are you tracking with me?

In summary, service is the ultimate expression of success!

Destined to Succeed -- Principle Six -- Your Point of Focus

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle six:

Principle Six states:

When you totally focus in the present moment, you can permanantly transform your consciousness to a success state of mind.

This principle is the most subtle of all ten and is yet the most powerful. It begs the question, "How long does it take to change your life?" The answer: "As long as it takes to change your mind." Change, in this sense, is transformation; which is a permanent alteration in one's consciousness. This obviously makes sense when you reflect on the fact that Mind-Set drives Behavior drives Results. That is, your toolbox of skills is no more powerful than the mental energy and focus that drives it.

Examples of being totally in the present, beyond time, are a heart attack,
a car accident (where your whole life flashes before you), being in the zone, change resulting from extreme stress, or simply coming to the realization that your life is empty and meaningless with what you are presently doing. These expeiences tend to disappear the past and the future. You truly experience, "This is the first day of the rest of your life;" and all the coming days are firsts!

A popular book has recently been written about this state of being (notice I didn't say state of mind, because you are quite literally "out of your mind.")titled, "The Power of Now." Such a state has been wiritten about in eloquent detail by J. Krisnamurti in several of his books. Obviously, the present point of focus does not have to come about through crisis. For example, some years ago I decided to give up teaching and research as a university professor at the peak of my career because I asked myself a simple question in an instance of total detachment: "What are you doing here?" The spontaneous answer that erupted from my deep subconscious was "I don't know?" But what I did know was that somethnig has radically changed. I just had to wait for my subconscious to ship it up to me whenever it felt I was ready for the "good" news.

I remember going home and sitting on my back porch, realizing that my life had irrevocably changed. I didn't know where I was headed to next, but I could no longer continue to push molecules around with lasers and pretend this was still my passion. I describe it as sailing out to sea with no map or direction and no sight of land. In other words, all I had was the future and a blank canvass. I also had a feeling of certainty of success. There was absolutely no question of success at wherever my intuition led me next.

The point is this, when you focus totally in the present moment, you create the space for your life to instantly change. The realization that results is a humbing experience of who you really are at the core of your being (not your degrees, awards, accomplishments, earnings, or anything of a material nature.) It is also a humbling realization of the source of your passion. You then discover that everything you have learned and experienced up that point has been preparation for what you will do with your life; success is a given!

So, as I have stated previously, when your skills and abilities are driven by passion for what you are naturally led to do, then you are destined to succeed.

Destined to Succeed -- Principle Five -- Pesonal Empowerment

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle five:

Principle five simply states:

You are inherently endowed with an ability to perform in an exceptional manner when you combine passion with your talents, abilities, and learning experiences.

One of the most important jobs in managing people is to determine what they are good at. So many people take jobs for which they are unsuited or have no interest. Then they wonder why they have no passion for their work or why it is so hard to go to work everyday. In truth, it is your responsibility to find your passion, not your boss. Remember, this series is about success and your role in it. Which is 100%, whether you accept it or not.

Soon someone at less than 100% begins complaining to others about their work situation, making mistakes, and finding everything about their work a problem or a burden; even showing up! If my message about responsiblity and accountability got through, then resolution begins by looking inside yourself rather than finding fault with the system you are in at present. Like my Mother used to say, "Birds of feather flock together." Meaning you are presently where you deserve to be with people who reflect your present state of mind!

Now I know this is hard to believe. I used to deny this to my mother until I took a hard look at the people I "hung out" with, what they talked about, and how accomplished they were. Not very impressive to say the least. Just being with them most of the time, listening to their insessant gossip, and blaming others for their demise, woke me up quicker than any seminar I could have attended. (Proving again, You can´t fool your mama!)

If I am speaking about you or someone you know then help is on the way. So where do you begin to get it together.

1. Write down all the things you really enjoy doing, computers, being with people, outdoors, working with your hands, creating new stuff, teaching, helping, etc. Write ten things from your heart, not your head.

2. Then write down all the skills you need or should know in order to maintain your "personal stock." Your personal stock is your value for employment based on what you know and can perform in an exceptional manner. Then get busy learning these regardless of your present situation, so you won´t have to fake your resume when you decide to move to another job!

3. Write ten skills, abilities, and learning experiences you have acquired or would be naturally-driven to learn. What are you good at, speaking, working with others, helping, creativity, software, writing, technical skills, etc. Don´t worry about writing a job description at this point.

4. Match what you enjoy with your skills, abilities, and experiences (1 and 3 above) and write a unique job description; whether that job presently exists or not.

5. Research where this job could be useful to an employer or start a new business. Use the internet to search or even market yourself! Be creative about promoting the truth about your abilities and skills.

6. Then go for it! Begin to market yourself while creating an honest job description. If you lie about what you can do, it will follow you and haunt you in your career; not to mention the guilt it might foster in you.

The bottom-line is you will never really be happy until you live your passion!

Destined to Succeed --Principle Four -- Responsibility and Accountability

I've been reading Dr. Guillory's blog site (www.where-to-now.com) lately and recently he has published 10 principles for success.  As one of the founding members of Razorpages, a community blog site for self-publishing authors, I thought I would share these 10 principles.  Bill is the author of over 10 books and in some of these entries he gives some insight into his publishing experiences.  But mainly I thought we can all use some insight into how to be more successful.  I hope you find these entries helpful.  Here's principle four:

If you create your own reality, whether consciously or unconsciously, then you are not only responsible and accountable for every event that happens in your life, but also for creating the probability of that event, in advance! This statement is obviously the graduate course in self-mastery. Let's examine the implications of such a statement as a way to live your life. For it can be overwhelmingly powerful and insightful.

Several years ago, I facilitated an outdoors "Ropes Course." Individuals, in teams and alone, would attempt physically-demanding events on the ground and at great heights. One of the great-heights event involved climbing a shaved tree that was about 50 or 60 feet high which had a shaky platform on top. The objective was to climb to the top of the tree, somehow stand on the platform, and jump for a swinging trapeze significantly out of reach. Most of the team laughed when the instructions were first given. With a sober face I asked, "Are there any questions?" Then I simply said, "Okay, who needs to go first?"

They huddled for five minutes and made a decision. Among the team of five men and one woman, it was decided the woman would go first. She was obviously terrified from the start. She asked about the small size of the platform, which she didn't know was shaky at that point. I told her not to worry about the platform until she reached the top; if she reached the top! Then I took her aside and said, "I know you can do this. I saw how athletic you were on the other events."

She replied, "I'm afraid of heights." "Perfect," I said. "This is your chance to lose what is underneath that fear." "What do you mean?" she asked. I instructed her to ask herself a question everytime she felt she was about to fall or wanted to give up on the event and she would get her answer.

By the way, this is obviously a harnessed event!

She made it to the top and began crying. I told her crying was great. That she was experiencing "tears of joy." She mounted the shaky platform and informed me she was ready to come down. I asked her to think about this decision she was about to make. I asked, "Is this about where you stop in life, when winning the gold is within your each? You certainly have good reason to stop now, even though you know you can catch the trapeze." One of her team members blurted out, "Why don't you let her down, you can see she's done her best!" I ignored him, of course, since he was really projecting his own fear he would have to face if he got that far.

After three minutes of soul-searching, she asked me to help her get into a rhyhtm to jump for the trapeze. I told to think of something she had always wanted in her life, but could never reach. (Something always happened that wasn't her fault; which meant she wasn't responsible; but she was always there!) Then picture the success of that thing sitting on the trapeze swinging back and forth in front of you. The question at this point was not could she catch the trapeze, but if she chose to do so; and what would be the implications if she succeeded! Literally, her life's direction was swinging there before her captured in a single jump.

Obviously, this event had transcended a physically-challenging exercise. (mind-body stuff) So, then I told her, "It's time to make a decision, we have other people for this event, take responsibility for choosing to fail or succeed! Focus on your heart talking to you. The next time the trapeze comes within your reach, either follow your heart or the self-limiting conversations of your mind."

Before I could finish my statement, she jumped for the trapeze going beyond its reach, so charged was her energy and intention. So, she hung there holding on with one hand, crying and laughing simultaneouly. Then she clutched the bar with her other hand. She seemed to be swinging in slow motion. I told her to let go, that she was successful. She was in another world. She didn't even hear me. Nor would she ever hear those who supported her limitations in the future. Her reality about her capability was transformed forever!

The realization she shared that night at our debrief was that in that moment of indecision, she recounted a sequence of events in her life where she had stopped short in her academic performance, participation in sports, choice of a boyfriend she really wanted at the time, and her present career in life. She could clearly see now that she made those decisions without conscious awareness, but nevertheless, she made them and she was responsible and accountable for the limitations she placed upon herself.

Now she could consciously decide to live her life with full intention, with the freedom to decide, and the realization that she had the power to create her own reality.

Responsibility and accountability are the most fundamental concepts to mastering the human experience; no matter what your race, culture, circumstances, history, or whatever you might have been using to sell yourself short! This is the most important principle for success no matter how you uniquely define it.