There are 2 guiding principles of success that are not taught enough. The first is: Always assume there is an answer to every problem but you may not know what it is. The second is: everything is your fault. Both of these principles are to help you take control of your life.
The first principle implies that there is always an answer to a problem. If you are willing to look for it you can find it. It may be difficult to find the answer but it is out there. This implies that you have to learn, read, talk to experts, get opinions of others, etc. This lesson really means that you have to work and learn and you can find the solution.
The second principle goes in the face of everything we are taught. We are not directly taught to abdicate responsibility but through our societal system (corporations and school) we are punished and ostracized and when we are different and failure is made to be the worst thing in the world (failure is one of the best educations, the best way to learn how to ride a bike is to fall off a couple of times and learn how much it hurts to fall off). When we do something right we are given a pat on the back if that. Why would anyone want to take responsibility for anything? If the outcome is bad you are punished but if the outcome is good you are not rewarded.
What you are not told is that when you avoid responsibility you are giving away your power to control the situation and learn from the situation. If something goes wrong it is a perfect opportunity to learn from the situation and not repeat the actions that led to the situation.
In a real world example, take a look at the financial crises we are going through. One of the issues is people are losing their homes. These people can blame the lenders, the government, the economy, etc. What if they said “This was dumb, I cannot believe I did this, what can I do next time so I do not have to go through this again?”
If you want to reach success you need say “It was my fault and where can I find the answer”
I like the second principle. It follows my own idea that although success is more fun, failure is more instructive.
But only, as you say, if we accept responsibility for our failures.
I think accepting responsibility is one of the hardest things to do but we have to be accountable if we want to make in the world.