What does responsibility mean to you? If it reminds you of a lecture from Mom, consider that being responsible for what works- and what doesn’t work- in your life, is an opportunity to take the lid off your dreams!

Let's say that some day you might need a bit of extra income. So you decide to open a flea circus as a part time job. Here is how you train fleas for the circus. Everyone has heard of a flea circus, but few have ever seen one. The reason for that is the awesome commitment it takes to create and promote them. Few people are that committed and as such few flea circuses exist today. It isn't because you aren't able to train fleas. Fleas are, in fact, very trainable. The biggest problem with a flea circus is the fleas, though. The average North American flea can jump 30 feet in a single bound. This is an extremely undesirable trait for circus fleas, for they will quickly escape the circus. The first lesson for your flea is to learn to not jump at all. Here is how you train fleas to stop jumping.

Step one: Get a seven-inch tall mayonnaise jar. Step two: Remove any and all mayonnaise. (This is a major step. You cannot skip this step.) Step three: Put the flea in the jar and screw on the lid. (Actually, this is two steps in one.) Step four: Shake the jar. At this point the flea will begin to jump in the jar. It will sound and look similar to this: Click. Thump. Click. Thump. Click. Thump.

It is important to shake the jar occasionally to keep the flea involved in its training. An involved flea is a trainable flea. Click. Thump. Click. Thump. As the flea continues to jump and hit its head on the lid of the jar it will begin to notice that it hurts to jump. This is due to the innate intelligence of the flea. It only takes a couple of hours and the flea will then learn to jump six inches in a seven-inch jar. Click. Click. Click. Voila! Stage one of the training is now complete. For the rest of the flea's life it will never again jump 30 feet in a single bound. The flea now knows a new limit. Even if you take the lid off the jar, the flea will not be able to escape. Put the flea in a smaller jar and repeat the process. Two smaller jars later the flea will never jump again. It will give up its essence (jumping) to survive. You now have the beginning of the Smallest Show On Earth, a flea circus. Life's just clicking along.

It is estimated that half of the contents of our mind- the beliefs, the judgments, and the programs that operate our auto-pilot- are in place by the time we are 4 years old. Click. Thump. What did you buy when you were 4 years old? By the time we are 8 years old as much as 80% of our belief systems are in place. Click. Thump. And as much as 95% of our daily actions are generated from this content of our mind, albeit unconsciously. Click. Thump.

This "auto-pilot" part of the mind operates much like the computer on your desk at home or work. It is programmed for survival, or what you tell it survival is. From your first day you began to collect the programs necessary to survive.

Through repetition and emotional involvement you collect your programs and the unconscious mind stores these programs as though they were reality. Click. Thump. Click. Thump. You have collected and created programs about everything in your life, programs about what it means to be a man or woman, about money, wealth, age, time, intimacy, commitment, love, friends, etc. - every aspect of life. Click. Thump. Click. Thump.

Before you knew how to drive a car, you simply did not have the program necessary to drive. You wanted to learn, so you took lessons and practiced. In the beginning, before you had a "program" to drive a car, the conscious mind did the driving for you. This was a very difficult proposition at best, since the conscious mind can only think of one thing at a time.

Everything you did to drive that car, in the beginning, was a conscious thought; how to park, change lanes, make left turns, pass someone, or just start the car! Driving a car with only your conscious mind was a chore. But as you were consciously learning to drive your unconscious mind was paying close attention. Your unconscious mind was learning a "program" - how to drive a car.

Now with an unconscious "program" for driving a car, you don't even have to be consciously in the car to drive somewhere! How many times have you driven somewhere and had that strange feeling that you don’t even remember the drive there? Somehow you automatically ended up there.

The same experience can occur in our marriage, our business, our career, or with all of our other relationships. This is because of the programmed part of our mind is not limited to driving cars. “How did I get here?” “What happened to our marriage?” “This isn't where we set out to go.” “Where did all the time go?”

Most people never even realize that they have stopped jumping in life. They feel like they just somehow arrived there.

What lids did you buy growing up? And what lids are you not being responsible for? Are you blaming someone else for your limitations? You bought them, so now own them. If you don't generate the experience of buying and owning them, there is nothing you can do about them. You just get to play victim. Click. Thump.

What lids did you buy and trade for? In other words, what content did you fill your mind with, that you now believe to be the truth?

Read this entire list and allow yourself to recall these common internal statements.

You are just like your father. Click. Thump.

Children should be seen and not heard. Click. Thump.

I am just not good at math. Click. Thump.

Mommy won't like you if you do that. Click. Thump.

You never do enough. Click. Thump.

Why can't you be like your brother? Click. Thump.

My parents never cared about me. Click. Thump.

I am a slow learner. Click. Thump.

I have to be the best. Click. Thump.

I can't make mistakes. Click. Thump.

I can't trust. Click. Thump.

I can't have intimate relationships. Click. Thump.

If it is to be done right, I'll have to do it. Click. Thump.

You have to work hard. Click. Thump.

Money doesn't grow on trees. Click. Thump.

If you love me, you'd change. Click. Thump.

Nobody knows how I feel. Click. Thump.

Who do you think you are? Click. Thump.

Time is money. Click. Thump.

Everyone should like me. Click. Thump.

Life should be fair. Click. Thump.

I'll give if you give. Click. Thump.

People like you are a dime a dozen. Click. Thump.

You have to have money to make money. Click. Thump.

You can't get ahead without an education. Click. Thump.

You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Click. Thump.

Nobody ever believes me. Click. Thump.

Life is hard. Then you die. Click. Thump.

Be a good girl. Click. Thump.

Be a good boy. Click. Thump.

There isn't enough love in the world. Click. Thump.

There isn't enough opportunity in the world. Click. Thump.

I was deprived. Click. Thump.

Nobody loves me. Click. Thump.

I don't deserve it. Click. Thump.

I am not worthy. Click. Thump.

You never listen to me. Click. Thump.

I can't commit. Click. Thump.

Never volunteer. Click. Thump.

Never give in. Click. Thump.

I have the greatest parents in the world. (Can I ever live up to them?) Click. Thump.

I have no lid. (I have arrived.) Click. Thump.

It will never work out. Click. Thump.

Don't dream too big, you'll just be disappointed. Click. Thump.

Be realistic. Click. Thump.

I don't matter. Click. Thump.

I don’t care. Click. Thump.

Clean your plate. Click. Thump.

Do I have to do everything around here? Click. Thump.

Get your head out of the clouds. Click. Thump.

Don't be a loser. (Am I?) Click. Thump.

Stop being a wimp. (Am I?) Click. Thump.

Big boys don't cry. Click. Thump.

What were you thinking? Click. Thump.

Are you going to let them get away with that? Click. Thump.

You deserve what you get. Click. Thump.

This will hurt me more than it does you. Click. Thump.

When will you learn? Click. Thump.

Had enough? Click. Thump.

Did you run away and join the Smallest Show On Earth, the circus of victim-fleas? Have you given up some of your essence in order to survive? Congratulations, you survived!

Now let's get on with your life. I challenge you to jump again. The only lids you have are the ones you bought and traded. Take the lids off of your dreams. You are a genius at creating! You are totally responsible for your lids and for your experience of your lids.

Take the lid off and jump!