Executive TLDR
You are exactly where you are because of your decisions.
Blaming circumstances removes your control.
Leaders must call the play and decide quickly.
Indecision is still a decision.
Clarity of purpose eliminates distractions.
Speed with precision creates entrepreneurial success.
Emotional regulation protects judgment under pressure.
Decisiveness and full commitment eliminate mediocrity.
Video Summary
In Stop Blaming Circumstances. Start Owning Your Decisions, David Kim delivers a powerful message on personal responsibility, leadership accountability, and entrepreneurial decision-making.
He begins with a foundational truth: we are the sum total of the decisions we’ve made. While it is easy to blame upline structure, geography, hierarchy, or external conditions, doing so removes control. Ownership restores control. When you accept responsibility for where you are, you regain the power to change direction.
Using the Matrix red pill metaphor, Kim challenges leaders to decide whether they will return to comfort or commit to growth. Every decision carries consequences, whether immediate or delayed. The job of a leader is to call the play—even if imperfect. Action creates learning. Indecision creates stagnation.
Kim outlines five core components of entrepreneurial decision-making:
Clarity of Vision and Purpose – Every decision must advance long-term vision. Clear goals eliminate distractions and noise.
Speed with Precision – Successful entrepreneurs decide with 70% of information, then adjust. Overanalyzing kills momentum.
Emotional Regulation and Intuition – Fear, ego, and frustration distort logic. Emotional control combined with intuition creates advantage.
Team Input and Network Wisdom – Seek perspective from qualified mentors, not random opinions. Guidance should come from those already where you want to be.
Decisiveness and Ownership – Once a decision is made, commit fully. CEOs rated decisive are significantly more likely to outperform indecisive leaders.
Kim emphasizes that many people already know what to do. The gap is not skill—it is commitment. The Latin root of “decide” means “to kill off.” When you truly decide, you eliminate alternative options. Mediocrity, excuses, and average performance must be killed off.
The message is clear: stop blaming circumstances. Start owning your decisions. Success, leadership growth, RVP promotion, and financial freedom begin with a single committed decision followed by disciplined execution.
FAQs
1. Why is ownership important in business?
Ownership restores control and empowers change.
2. What does “call the play” mean?
Make the decision and execute, even if imperfect.
3. Is indecision really a decision?
Yes. Delaying action still produces results—usually negative ones.
4. How does clarity impact success?
Clear vision removes distractions and aligns actions.
5. Why should decisions be made quickly?
Speed builds momentum and allows fast adjustments.
6. What role do emotions play in decisions?
Unchecked emotions distort judgment and slow progress.
7. Who should you seek advice from?
Qualified mentors who have achieved what you want.
8. Why do people reneg on decisions?
Lack of commitment and fear of discomfort.
9. What does the word “decide” truly mean?
To kill off all other options.
10. How do leaders outperform others?
By being decisive and accountable.
11. What is the biggest obstacle to growth?
Blaming circumstances instead of taking responsibility.
12. Does skill matter more than commitment?
Long-term success requires both, but commitment activates skill.
13. How do you eliminate mediocrity?
Make a firm decision and follow it with disciplined action.
14. Can one decision change your trajectory?
Yes. A committed decision redirects your future.
Glossary
Ownership Mentality – Accepting full responsibility for outcomes.
Call the Play – Take decisive action without hesitation.
Clarity of Vision – Clear understanding of long-term goals.
Speed with Precision – Deciding quickly with sufficient information.
Emotional Regulation – Controlling emotional responses under pressure.
Network Wisdom – Strategic input from qualified mentors.
Decisiveness – Committing fully once a decision is made.
Mediocrity – Average performance sustained by indecision and excuses.
Transcript:
As we’re starting to wind down, we’re gonna realize that if you haven’t done so already we’re gonna have to make some decisions. And so the presentation that I want to share with you guys is really about making decisions. And what we come to realize is, and correct me if I’m wrong, and I’ll just read these bullet points through but it says we are exactly where we are in life because of the decisions we’ve made up to this point. For better or worse. Would you guys agree with that? We are the sum product of all of our decisions. Now, I understand the tendency. A lot of us want to blame other circumstances, external circumstances. You might think to yourself, listen, if I was under that hierarchy or if I lived in that state if my upline paid attention to me more, if.
And you want to blame a lot of other things. And so you’ve got to come to the terms with the fact that you’ve got to take responsibility. And let me tell you why that part is so important. You’ve got to take responsibility for the decisions you’ve made up until this point because that gives your control back. Would you agree with that? See, if it’s everything else that’s externally wrong then you have no control to change the trajectory of your life and your business. And so Bill Gates was quoted, and it says, if you were born poor, it’s not your mistake. But if you die poor, it is your mistake. Said differently, you were born into the decisions your parents made but the way you die or the way you are remembered will be based on the decisions you’ve made.
For better or worse, I want to share something with you. Anybody watch the movie the Matrix? You know, I think that’s been overused or overdone but in that scene, there’s a scene I want to play out for you guys. You know, Morpheus goes and says to Neo, listen, you can take the blue pill and you’re just going to go back into the Matrix, happily ever after. If you take the red pill, you’re gonna see where the. We’re gonna see where the rabbit hole is gonna take us. Now you’re gonna be faced with the same reality after all this amazing event. You’re gonna be forced with the decision to make. You take the blue pill and you’re gonna be exactly the way it was even before you came. You felt good, motivation phased, and you’re gonna go back to the same routines.
But if you take the red pill, we’ll see how far the rabbit hole goes. So check this if we can play the video, I think this is pretty powerful because in this, let’s just play this out. You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. I heard about Prime America before and everything sounds great, but I’m not the kind of person that makes decisions on the first night. I’d like some time to think it over. Now, now, could you imagine like this is. This was the pinnacle. This was like the moment in the movie where he becomes a hero to. Because he takes the red pill.
And we’re in a situation right now that you’ve got to make decisions. And if you don’t make that decision, where are you going to be? So listen to this. Every decision we make has rewards or consequences. Some immediate, some take time. The job of a leader is to make decisions right or wrong. I’m going to go through with you five bullet points, five ways, how to make better decisions. But the job of a leader is to make decisions. Call the dagum play, is what Art Williams said. Call the play. Even if it’s right or wrong, you call the daggum play. And what you’re going to find out is if it’s wrong, then you learn from that mistake. But you got to call the play. The job of a leader is also to help our people make decisions.
And this is the part that’s interesting because you ever get to a. Whether it’s a client or a teammate and they’re like, oh, he’s too pushy. It’s not that you’re being pushy, you’re actually making them make a decision that maybe in their adult life they’ve never actually had to come to terms with making decisions. So all of a sudden you’re calling them out and saying you need to make a decision. See, you can say, I’m not interested. I’m a big boy. Tell me. No, it’s okay. I can hear no all day long. But just tell it to me. Don’t drag me along. Because at the end of the day, not making a decision is still making a decision. Did you ever realize that there are a lot of people out there, they’re so afraid to make decisions.
I’m not the type of person that makes decisions on the first night. It’s common sense. Like, we’ll get into it. Let’s go into it. Alright, so here are the five core Components of entrepreneurial decision making. And I actually did some research on this. I started reading a little bit on it. How to make good decisions. So these are the five points and I’m gonna break it down for you. First one, clarity. Clarity of vision and purpose. If you have clear purpose, if it’s very clear to you what you want and you made a decision, all the things kind of start falling into place. So listen to this. Check this out. Every choice should advance your long time vision and mission. Clear direction prevents distraction and keeps decision aligned with what truly matters.
You know, we learned from Tom Hopkins and we had to memorize a lot of stuff. Talk about skills training, right? I must do the most productive thing at every given moment. So the things that you say, if you have a very clear decision, you made a decision at this event and you said, I decided I will be an rvp. Then all the other stuff starts becoming like noise. It becomes distractions. And you can recognize you don’t need to pay attention to that. Right? That’s what happens when you have clarity of vision and purpose. How about this? Speed with precision. And this is one of the most undervalued one. You gotta make decisions quickly. You can’t sit on your hands and let a week go by before you make a decision. Well, I’m the kind of person.
No, you’re the kind of person that keeps making bad decisions because you allow too much time to pass on by. Entrepreneurs win by deciding fast and adjusting quickly. And this is what, whether you like him or not, Jeff Bezos, he was talking about making decisions and he says, listen, I make decisions and I know we’ve made some bad decisions, but I make decisions based on gathering at least 70% of information. Not 100, not 99.99%. I’m sure he gathers about 70% of the information before he makes decision. It also says business studies. Research in management and psychology shows that faster decision making is often linked with higher success in entrepreneurs. So all you guys who love to analyze and overthink things, call the daggone play. Successful people decide quickly, act and adjust. Unsuccessful people delay, hesitate, or avoid deciding altogether.
3.
Emotional regulation and intuition. Business pressure triggers strong emotions. Fear, greed, frustration, or ego. These emotions can hijack logic. We understand that, right? Leading to impulsiveness, overreactions, to temporary changes. And it goes on to say, emotional regulation gives you clarity. Intuition gives you speed. Together, they give you an edge. Number four, Team input and network. Network wisdom. Leverage your inner circle. Mentor advisors and team members to gain perspective. Diverse thinking reveals blind spots and strengthens decisions. I think it’s hugely important that you have an alliance with your upline, your coaches, your leaders, because you can only see from your perspective, you’ve got to allow other people to help coach you. No matter how skilled you are, no matter how good you think you are, you’ve got to allow a network of people that are, I would say, better than you. So listen to this disclaimer.
It says when consulting with others, and you gotta be careful, it says team input and network wisdom. It doesn’t mean that everybody should have a voice. Let me say this again because I hear people say, well, we need to hear everybody out. It depends on where they are. You’ve got to inspect where you’re allowing the knowledge and the information to get to you. It says disclaimer. When consulting with others, ask yourself this. Are they where you want to be or have they themselves done what you are asking of them? And last but not least, number five, decisiveness and ownership. Commit fully once a decision is made. Why is it that we make a decision at a big event? We say, that’s it, Dave, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to quit my job. I’m going to be an rvp.
And it’s somewhere along the line you reneged on that decision. You don’t let us know about it. You just silently start to, like, disappear from it. What happened? You’ve got to be decisive and you got to commit fully. CEOs who are rated decisive were 12 times more likely to be high performing than those rated indecisive. I got some bonus material here. Use the dagum common sense when you make a decision. Use some common sense. Are you broke? Do you want to be broke? Is someone offering you an opportunity to make more income? That’s a pretty common sense decision. Would you agree? Well, let me think about it. You got a thousand other opportunities out there talking to you about business ownership. If it’s not, take the opportunity. You don’t need another day to think about it. Y’ all right, Decision making.
If it’s about helping people, how many people can you help by yourself? Doesn’t it make sense to recruit an army to help you help people if that’s your reason? Last but not least, do you have freedom? Is someone offering to teach you how to gain financial freedom? And is the vehicle you’re in getting you to the promised land? Let me get to this. And the word decide, it actually comes from the Latin extension of the word side. It means to kill off. So Words that it shares in. Actually let me play this. Is there an audio wilma attached to.
This 2010 business is definitely not where we want it to be. We are newly promoted RVP’s second month in officially full second month as hard repeats and numbers are stinking because of our thinking. We are 4 IBAs by barely 1000 in premium and it is already the 25th of the month. So we definitely have to change something. And what is that something? It’s our thinking. It’s our thinking and it’s our discipline. It’s the little things that we’re doing or we’re not doing. A compilation of all the mistakes. So called it. So where will we be in the next 90 days? Where will we be July 25th, 2011? We will have rebuilt our team. We will be doing 20 by 20 within the next 90 days. We will change that because of the little things that we are going to focus on.
Making sure we keep a log 50 calls a day. Going to stick to that, going to get into the office consistently 9 o’ clock in the morning and that’s going to change. That’s going to change things. So mark my words, this is the lowest point of our business. It was a humbling experience. Don’t want to revisit this again. So that’s it.
So, so I, I found that audio and I was like I sound kind of pathetic but you know if you listen to the audio I wanted to believe. I, I almost forcefully said it’s like I’m going to be 20 by 20. I wasn’t even that confident to say it but here’s the point that I want to make. A lot of us, if we’ve been in the circuit, we already know what we need to do. The actual skill part, the thing that we have to do, we already know it. It’s just we have to decide that we’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. How many of you guys with me, right? If you, if you’ve been sitting through this weekend and you made a decision, you understand the things that you have to do, you’re literally one decision away from that.
And as I was saying and I put up pulled up these words pesticide is to kill insects, right? Homicide, kill people. Suicide, kill yourself. And the word decide like I said, extension in Latin is to kill off. It’s to kill off all other options out there. Cause once you’ve decide there’s no turning back. So it’s game time. It’s decision time right now. If you haven’t made a decision. It’s time to make a decision. It’s time for you to decide to end mediocrity average and ordinary. It’s time for you to decide that you’re gonna show up to the office early. It’s time for you to decide You. You’re finally going to go on this RVP run. It’s time to decide you’re going to not make income be an issue in your life.
It’s time to decide you’re going to be the one that your family can count on. I’m proud to be in business with you guys. Let’s make those decisions.
