A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they are alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me’. Another said ‘I have just bought five yokes of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out, Please excuse me’. Still another said, I just got married, so I can’t come.’…..
Believe it or not, I read this account from a book…the
greatest book ever written. Before making my points, I need you to understand
the story very well.
Can you imagine getting an invitation from the President of
the United States for a dinner? How would you treat such invitation? Would you
need a reminder before honouring it? I bet you won’t. You’ll probably hang the
invitation somewhere that you’ll see it everyday. Everyone around you will also
know you have a date with the President. Every other thing will take second place.
All other appointments will be rescheduled. And many more
He who makes excuses, accuses himself
Take for example the 1st guy. His excuse? ‘I have just
bought a field and I must go and see it’. This guy must be a professional
excuse maker. He didn’t just get the invitation the day before. Why on earth
will he fix inspecting his field on the same day with the party? Afterall, the
field is his. He can choose to go and inspect it the day before, or the day
after the party! Besides, when do you go to inspect a field? Probably early in
the morning or late in the afternoon. Right? The guy was invited for a dinner!
He could still have made it if he really wanted to come! He was just making up
an excuse to be absent. And that’s how excuses are. They are “made”.
Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid dealing with
unpleasant truths. But as long as we buy into those excuses, we can never move
past them. Instead of addressing the underlying problem, we merely hide the
symptoms. One of the most important steps in personal growth is to uproot
excuse-making and confront the real issues behind the excuses with
consciousness and courage. A wise man puts it right when he said “Excuses are
the trademarks of failures and mediocres”
We are all manufacturers. Making goods, making trouble, or making excuses
I don’t have the time
This is perhaps the commonest excuse I have heard in my
life. How many times have you heard yourself or someone else make this excuse?
There is nothing that can be farther from the truth. One interesting thing
about time is that it’s the most evenly distributed of God’s gifts. Everyone on
the planet has 24 hours. A rich man in his palace has 24 hours and so does a
poor man on the street. Whatever happens to you in life depends on how you
spend or invest the time you’ve got.
In all honesty, if you do not have time for anything, it
simply means that thing is not important enough to get a chunk of time from
you. You’re really saying, “That just isn’t important enough to me.” I don’t
have time to exercise. I don’t have time for a relationship. I don’t have time
to start my own business. Of course you have time. You have as much time as
anyone else does, and other people are already doing these same things. The
difference is that they make it more of a priority in their lives than you do.
You aren’t a victim of circumstances. If you don’t like your circumstances,
change them.
The real problem therefore is not lack of time but lack of
will. Look at what you really devote time to everyday. People devote time to
marginal activities like watching TV everyday and yet do not have time to do
things they want us to believe they are committed to. No way. If you are really
committed to a thing, and if it is very important to you, you will surely have
time for it. You have 24 hours everyday. Go and make the best use of it.
I don’t have money
There are many people going about today fantasizing about
what they’ll do if only they have the money. “If only I have money” is the
common excuse of such people. In my opinion, our greatest problem in the world
is not money problem. It is an idea problem. Money always flows in the
direction of ideas.
If there’s something you want, “I don’t have the money” is
no excuse for not getting it. You can always earn the money or find a way to
get the item at reduced cost. The truth behind “I don’t have the money” is “I
don’t want it badly enough.” If you want something real bad, you will think
through how to get it. In that moment, ideas of how to get it will surely come
to you.
Think of it for a moment. Have you ever had to get something
by all means that you didn’t have the money at first to get? Did you eventually
get it? I know most people will answer a “yes”. Not having money is surely not
a tenable excuse.
Excuses are the tools with which persons with no purpose in view build for themselves great monuments of nothing.
This is a common excuse with those who thinks getting to the
top a matter of who you know. They feel that they are where they are because
they don’t know the right people to help. “I don’t have the necessary
connection” is a nice way of saying “I am not willing and ready to cultivate
the relationships I need to reach my goals”. That’s the real truth behind that
excuse.
I am sure you know that you are 5-7 people away from anyone
on this planet. Yes, you are. You can create and cultivate any relationship you
so desire. I am not saying that this easy and will be a walk over, but it is
possible. You can get connected to top people in your field of endevour for
instance. You can, if you are willing to cultivate the relationship.
I don’t know how
This is one of the feeblest excuses of all. I don’t know how
to make a web site. I don’t know how to write well. I don’t know how to get a
better job. Are you capable of learning? Did you stop after learning to crawl,
complaining, “I don’t know how to walk?” The truth behind “I don’t know how” is
“I’m unwilling to learn.” In other words, you have to admit that you’re lazy.
And you need to do something about that. Are you willing to invest time in
learning anything you need to learn? Anything that is worth knowing is worth
learning.
The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.
Once again, don't make excuses; make things happen! Make changes.
Then, make history
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