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Exercise
What does it mean to be omnipresent?
What steps do you need to take to become omnipresent?
What is the upside of taking so much action that the
marketplace makes your name synonymous with what it
is you represent?
What is the best way to get revenge against your critics?
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CHAPTER
21
Excuses
T
his is about the time we should look at the excuses you are
likely going to use to avoid making any of this happen.
Everyone uses excuses. Most people actually have favorites that
they employ over and over. I am certain that yours are starting
to emerge by now—so rather than ignore them, let’s just go
ahead and confront the little monsters so that they don’t dis-
tract you later.
An “excuse” is a justifi cation for doing—or not doing—
something. I think the dictionary implies that it’s a “reason.”
However, in reality, an excuse usually turns out to be some-
thing other than the real reason that motivates your actions
(or lack thereof ). For example, let’s say that your excuse for
being late to work is due to traffi c. Well, that’s not truly the
reason you didn’t make it to work on time. The reason you
were late is because you left your home without enough time
to allow for traffi c. Excuses are never the reason for why you did
or didn’t do something. They’re just a revision of the facts that you
make up in order to help yourself feel better about what happened
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THE 10X RULE
(or didn’t). Making excuses won’t change your situation; only
getting to the real reason behind it can do this. Excuses are for
people who refuse to take responsibility for their life and how
it turns out. Slaves and victims make excuses—and will forever
be destined to having leftovers and others’ scraps.
The fi rst thing to know about excuses is that they never
improve your situation. The second thing to know is which
ones you use on a regular basis. Do any of the following sound
familiar? I don’t have the money, I have kids, I don’t have kids,
I am married, I am not married, I have to fi nd balance in my
life, I am overworked, I am underworked, too many people
work here, we don’t have enough people, my manager sucks/
doesn’t help me/won’t leave me alone/is negative/is too jacked
up, I don’t like reading, I don’t have time to study, I don’t have
time for anything, our prices are too high, our prices are too
low, the customer won’t call me back, the customer cancelled
the appointment, people don’t tell me the truth, they don’t
have the money, the economy is bad, the banks aren’t lend-
ing, my owner is cheap, we don’t have/can’t fi nd the right
people, no one is motivated, people have bad attitudes, no one
told me, it was someone else’s fault, they keep changing their
minds, I am tired, I need a vacation, the people I work with
are losers, I’m depressed, I’m sick, my mom is sick, traffi c is
terrible, the competition is giving its product away, I have
such bad luck. . . .
Bored yet? I know I am! I had to really reach deep into
the recesses of my mind just to come up with some of those.
How many of these have you used? Go back and circle every
statement you’ve ever heard come out of your mouth. Now
ask yourself, will any of these excuses ever improve your con-
dition? I doubt it.
So why, then, do so many people make them so often?
Does it even matter? An excuse is just an alteration of reality;
nothing about it will move you to a better situation. The fact
that “the customer doesn’t have the money” will not help you
close your deal. The fact that you “only have bad luck” is not
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Excuses
157
going to improve the conditions of your life or change your
luck. In fact, if you keep telling yourself that long enough,
you’ll start to expect it—thereby ensuring that things will con-
tinue to be bad.
You have to start understanding the differences between
making excuses and providing actual, sound reasons for events.
This book focuses on the many differences between the success-
ful and the unsuccessful—and a very distinct dissimilarity is that
successful people simply don’t make excuses. They are actually
quite unreasonable when it comes to providing reasons—at least
for failure—as well. I’ll never ask myself (or anyone else, for
that matter) why I was unable to bring my product to market,
raise enough money, or make enough sales because as far as I’m
concerned, no answer will do. There are no justifi cations that
will change these facts or situations—and any reasons I might
provide are only opportunities yet to be handled. Any rationale
you give yourself just gives someone else the chance to fi nd a
solution. Remember what I’ve said time and again throughout
this book: “Nothing happens to you; it happens because of you.”
Excuses are just another component of this—and a major dif-
ferentiator between whether you will succeed or not.
If you make success an option, then it won’t be an option
for you—simple. No excuse exists that can or will make you
successful. Engaging in self-pity and excuse making are signs
that someone has an extremely minimal degree of respon-
sibility. “He didn’t buy from me because the bank wouldn’t
make the loan.” No, he didn’t buy from you because you were
unable to secure proper fi nancing for a potential customer.
The fi rst statement assumes no responsibility for the event,
while the other does—and identifi es a solution. Once you
adopt a more advanced sense of responsibility—and refuse to
make any more excuses—then you can go out and search for
a solution. And as an added bonus, you will avoid such situa-
tions in the future.
The quality of being rare is what makes something valu-
able. So anything that is plentiful has very little worth. Excuses
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THE 10X RULE
are one item that people seem to have an almost endless supply
of. Because they are so plentiful, they have no value. Because
they do not forward your desire to create more success for
yourself, they are worthless uses of your energy. If you are
going to approach success as you’ve been taught throughout
this book—not as an option but as your duty, obligation, and
responsibility—then you must commit to never using excuses
for anything! You cannot allow yourself, your team, your family,
or anyone in your organization to use another excuse as a rea-
son why something didn’t come to fruition. As the old saying
goes, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
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