“Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses” (George Washington Carver). You are never a failure until you begin to blame somebody else. Stop blaming others. You’ll find that when you become good at making excuses, you won’t be good at anything else. Excuses are the tools a person with no purpose or vision uses to build great monuments of emptiness.
You can learn from your mistakes if you don’t waste your time denying and defending them. “It seems to me these days that people who admit they’re wrong get a lot further than people who prove they’re right” (Deryl Pfizer). What poison is to food, alibis are to a productive life. “Work brings profit; talk brings poverty” (Proverbs). “Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to do when all they really need is one reason why they can” (Willis Whitney).
One of the biggest alibis is regret. Don’t leave any regrets on the field – give your all in the game of life. “The most valuable thing I have learned from life is to regret nothing” (Somerset Maugham). Eliminate all your regrets. “Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it. It’s only good for wallowing in” (Catherine Mansfield). The truth is, a thousand regrets do not pay one debt. Live your life so that your tombstone reads, “No regrets.”
When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “I was wrong.” When a loser makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn’t my fault.” Do you admit and say, “I was wrong,” or do you say, “It wasn’t my fault?” A winner explains; a loser explains away.
Idle people lack no excuses. The word can’t usually means you won’t try. The word can’t weakens our resolve and many times does more harm than slander or lies. Can’t is the worst excuse and the foremost enemy of success.
We have many reasons for failure but not a real excuse. The book of Philippians says it best: “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you.” Alibis and excuses should be cremated, not embalmed. The person who excuses himself always accuses himself. Denying a fault doubles it.
“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You don’t blame them on your mother, the ecology or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny” (Albert Ellis). Don’t buy that alibi. We should live our lives like Florence Nightingale when she said, “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took and excuse.”
Excerpt permission granted by Insight Publishing Group
John Mason is an international bestselling author, minister, publisher, executive author coach, and noted speaker. He’s the founder and president of Insight International and Insight Publishing Group. Both organizations are dedicated to helping people reach their dreams and fulfill their God-given destinies.
He has authored thirty-two books including An Enemy Called Average, You’re Born An Original—Don’t Die A Copy, Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop, and Know Your Limits Then Ignore Them which have sold over 2 million copies and are translated into 40 different languages throughout the world. His books are widely regarded as a source of godly wisdom, scriptural motivation, and practical principles. His writings have been published twice in Reader’s Digest along with numerous other national and international publications. Seven of his books have reached number one on Amazon bestseller lists.
He’s been the president of two Christian publishing companies. He’s also a former Vice President and Publisher for Thomas Nelson Publishers (Harper Collins), the 6th largest book publisher in the world and largest Christian publisher.
He’s an internationally recognized executive author coach, helping numerous prominent authors with their books for more than thirty years. Politicians, NBA, NFL, PGA, MLB, an Olympic gold medalist and other professional athletes, billionaires, businesspeople, pastors, ministers, New York Times bestselling authors, a Fortune 500 CEO, Navy SEALs, Top Gun pilots, and a Texas governor have all benefitted from his knowledge.
Known for his quick wit, powerful thoughts, and insightful ideas, he is a popular speaker across the US and around the world.