The Victim Days Are Over: Taking Full Responsibility as an Entrepreneur

Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to witness the incredible stories of women who not only dreamed big but also embodied a unique entrepreneurial spirit. These stories aren’t just about success; they are blueprints of resilience, adaptability, and unwavering determination.

This is the 29th lesson, and today, we’re diving into a truth that every entrepreneur must embrace: The victim days are over. When you step into entrepreneurship, you take 100% responsibility for your life.

Playing the victim?

Have you ever seen a successful founder blame others when their startup isn’t doing well? Neither have I. In entrepreneurship, there’s no one else to blame. If your team isn’t performing, it’s because you’ve either hired poorly or managed ineffectively. If people don’t understand or adopt your product, it’s up to you to improve it or build something people actually need. If your social media engagement is low, you need to create more compelling content. The lesson is clear: It’s your startup, and everything is up to you.

One of the things I love most about entrepreneurship is that it forces you to realize that you either allow or create everything you experience. It teaches you to give up all your excuses—forever. This might be the most valuable life skill you’ll ever learn.

Entrepreneurship pushes you out of your comfort zone, moving you from the comfort zone to the fear zone, to the learning zone, and finally to the growth zone. And that’s what I love about it—though, trust me, there are days when I love it a bit less. You can’t be on the ride every day, but the thrill is undeniable. That’s why I make sure to unplug on weekends!

Lesson: The Victim Days Are Over

Growing up, many of us were conditioned to blame outside factors—be it the government, our bosses, clients, coworkers, parents, the media, the weather, or the economy. It’s easy and convenient, but it also disempowers us, keeping us stuck in a cycle of blame. The truth is, you can always take action, course-correct, adapt to circumstances, or react differently.

The funny thing about our victim stories is that they keep us in our comfort zone. But growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone, and neither does success. In the pursuit of building a successful startup, you’ll leave your comfort zone countless times—not just by taking risks but by managing areas you’ve never handled before, learning by doing, and facing challenges and setbacks you never saw coming.

Eventually, being outside your comfort zone becomes your new comfort zone. You get used to uncertainty, and it no longer stops you or makes you feel incapable. You learn to figure things out—whether by googling, asking for help, or through good old trial and error.

Once you develop this habit, you shift from a problem-focused mindset to a solution-focused one. You leave the “Ain’t it Awful” club for good, realizing that you’ve always had the power to produce the results you want. With this awareness, you start paying closer attention to what you’re doing, focusing on, and ignoring. You collect more feedback, continually expanding your awareness and improving your approach.

Now, when things don’t go as planned, you don’t waste time complaining. Instead, you ask yourself:

• How did I create or allow this to happen?
• What am I doing that’s not working?
• How can I fix this?
• What am I not doing that I need to try?

This process helps you iterate, pivot, and improve faster, all while fostering a growth mindset. Setbacks become opportunities to learn, and each one can be a stepping stone toward success. Startups are all about learning. If you’re not learning something new every day, you’re doing it wrong.

As Michael Jordan famously said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

The sense of ownership you develop as a founder pushes you to take control of your life in general. It leaves no room for giving your power away to other people or external factors. Knowing that your experiences are the result of your choices, you start making more conscious ones. You become mindful of what you think, knowing that it determines how you feel, and how you feel directs your actions and reactions.

You start paying attention to what you read, watch, or listen to, who you spend time with, and everything else that influences your thoughts and feelings. The more you look for them, the more tools and levers you find to steer things in the direction you want them to go—whether it’s a conversation with a team member, a sales call, or managing your own emotions. Once you step into your power of taking 100% responsibility, your whole life becomes yours.

The Lesson: Entrepreneurship Is Empowerment

Entrepreneurship is more than just running a business—it’s about taking control of your life. It’s about making decisions, facing the consequences, and constantly learning and evolving. When you embrace this mindset, you realize that you have the power to create the life you want. The victim days are over, and what lies ahead is a life of purpose, responsibility, and endless possibilities.

So, if you’re ready to stop making excuses and start taking full responsibility for your life, entrepreneurship might be the path for you. It’s challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. Because when you take 100% responsibility, you gain 100% of the power to shape your future.

What's your take on this? Let me know in the comments

End: This post is part of “A Journey of 52 Weeks: Lessons I Learned by Becoming an Entrepreneur.” It’s a reflection on my journey, a push for fellow founders to celebrate their milestones, and a call for more women to dive into entrepreneurship.