Believe You Create Your Own Life

The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1876-1950) once observed, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I do not believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances that they want, and if they can't find them, make them." Scott Raymond Adams believes he creates his own life.

Born and raised in upstate New York in the Catskill Mountains, Adams wanted to be a cartoonist since he was six years old when he would read old Peanuts collections at his uncle's farm. Scott graduated as valedictorian of his high school class because, in his own words, "the other 39 people in my class couldn't spell "valedictorian." He stayed local to attend college and graduated with a BA in economics. 

Upon graduation he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.   Early on in his life Adams worked at various low-paying jobs such as a bank teller where he was robbed twice at gunpoint. He eventually earned an MBA and then got a job at Pacific Bell in San Ramon, California. "Once there, he found himself immersed in the futility of bureaucracy-the aimless meetings and senseless double-speak. He started to turn his observations into so many drawings that he "turned his cubicle (#4S700R) into an art studio."

Those drawings eventually made their way into his business presentations. One of his co-workers suggested that Adams call his one character Dilbert. So that Dilbert would have a companion he created Dogbert as well. With a character in hand and a belief that he had the ability to create his own life, Adams sought the advice of cartoonist Jack Cassady on how to get syndicated.

Adams drew 50 sample cartoon strips and mailed copies to various cartoon syndicates. Within a few weeks United Media called and offered him a contract and launched Dilbert in 1989. It would, however, be another six years before Adams could quit his day job. From 1989 until 1995 he created Dilbert during mornings, evenings and weekends while maintaining his full-time job.

Today, Dilbert appears in 2,000 newspapers in 70 countries and serves as an example of what can happen when you believe you create your own life and do not give up your dream.

Throughout his life Adams has relied on using affirmations to help him believe he creates his own life. He has written often about his practice and belief in writing your goals down 15 times each day. According to Adams, "It seems to work much of the time, at least in my experience, but presumably not because of any magic. At least one probable explanation for its perceived effectiveness is that focusing on goals changes the person who is doing the focusing."

Questions To Ask Yourself

• Scott believed he created his own life, do you?
• When was the last time you wrote down your goals?
• Where are those goals posted so that you can see them every day?
• How do you know these are your goals and not the goals of someone else in your life?
• What things (events, people, and situations) have delayed you from fulfilling your goals?
• Have you delayed yourself from achieving your goals?
• What specific steps have you taken to create your own life?
• Have you asked anyone to help you create your life?
• Do you use affirmations to stay focused on creating your own life?