Alibi's Lie
I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot...and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
-- Michael Jordan (Arguably the greatest basketball player ever)When it comes to excuses, the world is full of amazing inventors. Don’t spend half your life telling what you are going to do and the other half explaining why you didn’t do it. An alibi is the supposed proof that you did do what you didn’t do, so that others will think you didn’t do what you did.
Mistakes have hidden powers to help us, but they fail in their mission of helping us when we blame them on other people. When you use excuses you give up your power to change and improve. You can fall down many times, but you won't be a failure until you say that someone has pushed you.
If you find an excuse, don’t pick it up. Failures are experts at making excuses. There are always enough excuses available if you are weak enough to use them. The world simply does not have enough crutches for all the lame excuses. It’s always easier to find excuses instead of time for the things we don’t want to do.
So, find a way, not an excuse. Never complain and never explain. “Admitting errors clears the score and proves you wiser than before” (Arthur Guiterman). Doing a job right is always easier than fabricating an alibi for why you didn’t. You waste time and creative energies thinking up excuses.
Nearly all failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. When you're good at making excuses, it's hard to excel at anything else. The book of Proverbs says, “Work brings profit; talk brings poverty.” Don't make excuses, make progress.
There may be many reasons for failure, but not a single excuse. Never let a challenge become an alibi. You have a choice: you can let the obstacle be an alibi or an opportunity. No alibi will ever support your purpose in life.
The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other finds an excuse. Success is a matter of luck; just ask any failure. Don't buy that alibi.
John Mason, Insight International
Reprinted from "The Nugget of the Week," a free ezine featuring an inspirational nugget from best-selling author John Mason. Subscribe at http://www.freshword.com/signup.php
A special 'Motivating Story' from Insight International at FreshWord.com
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