By Lynesha McElveen
Time after time, I have heard many “reasons” why people can’t achieve true success. I’ve heard everything from, “My teachers don’t like me” from the children I work with to “I don’t where to start” from the adults. I have made some of these excuses myself. Mine have been more internal. A decision that I didn’t feel like doing something… I wasn’t having a good day, so I would do it later.
I made a decision recently that if I want to achieve the level of success I am after, I must STOP making excuses. You must stop making them too.
See the bottom line is, no one cares about the reasons why you don’t do what you are scheduled, promised, or appointed to do. They don’t care that I don’t feel 100%, that this has been the worst allergy season on record for me, or that my water pump went out on my car the morning of my appointment. All they know is, I had scheduled an appointment, and I was supposed to be there.
Now, don’t get me wrong, if you have car trouble and are stranded, I’m sure you will get a pass, however, I knew that this was an attack to try and prevent me from moving forward in my destiny. How did I know this was an attack? Because on the day my water pump went out, I had one of the biggest meetings thus far to date for my financial literacy program. I had no problems the day before. I got up early the morning of the appointment, ran an errand, and actually looked down at the gauge. My car was fine. I get off the exit (an hour and fifteen minutes before my appointment) for my errand and all of a sudden my car runs hot? Really?
So how did I handle this inconvenience? Some colleagues of mine put some water in the car, and I drove to the meeting with my car leaking. Oh course I went to the mechanic right after my meeting, but I refused to let life’s little annoyances stop me from meeting my destiny.
As a result, the meeting went great! We are in negotiations for not only 1 program, but several programs and the development of a long term partnership.
The point I am making is, when you are on the path to greatness, you have to be discerning. You have to know when it is a true situation, and when it is a distraction to try to get you off course. You cannot let these distractions cause you to make excuses and keep you from your dreams.
I learned a valuable lesson from this experience and from here on out, my new mantra is: No excuses, just results! I hope you can apply this to your life as well.
