My wife and I like to watch movies at night.
Last night we started watching No Country for Old Men.
I’m a fan of Cormac McCarthy, the author of the book the movie is based on, as well as a big fan of the Coen brothers, who wrote and directed the movie.
Anyway there’s a scene where the serial killer, Anton, walks into a gas station and approaches the old man behind the counter.
After some tense conversation, Anton flips a coin and tells the man to choose heads or tails.
The man refuses to call it, saying he doesn’t know what he stands to lose or win.
“You have everything to win,” Anton says, implying he won’t kill the old man if he chooses correctly.
The man called heads, which was correct, and therefore he lived.
And this scene got me thinking about the old fatalism vs. free will debate.
Whether God dictates your future or it’s man’s choice to decide has been debated between philosophers and religious sects for millennia, so I’m not about to solve it for anybody today.
But as long as I believe I’m controlling my own future, what God/ universe/ higher power/ AI from a distant planet is actually doing doesn’t really make any difference to me.
Because I think the more responsibility you take for your life, the more power you have.
I used to blame other people, my ex-wife, God, the devil, bad luck or other external circumstances for the misfortune in my life.
But the more I take radical responsibility for my life – all of it – not only do I feel more empowered, but I begin to see better results.
If the problems in my life are a result of my own actions, attitudes, and decisions, then I can reflect on the way I’ve been doing things thus far and see what needs to change in order to get better outcomes.
And if I get cancer, get burned by someone I trusted, or a serial killer walks through my door, there’s not a whole lot I can do to change stuff like that.
But there thousands if not millions of decisions before me on how I will handle today, whatever comes my way.
And the more I see myself as responsible for the results, the more diligent I will be to make sure I do the right thing.
So I hope today you can feel responsible for your life, but in a good way. People are counting on you to give the day your best.
Your future is not contingent on a coin flip.
You have the power to choose.
Paul Denni
P.S. If you want to add some accountability to your life to help you manage your responsibilities in business and finances, consider signing up for monthly Wealth Man coaching. But first you’ll have to join my email list here: