"Make the Commitment and Eliminate the Excuses"

Have you ever had someone tell you they were going to do something and then they don't? Worse yet, there's the excuses that follow. I didn't have time, I don't have the money, I tried, blah, blah, blah. If you think about it, "try" is a weak term. Trying means you don't actually have to accomplish something. It's an attempt, but there's no guarantee or certainty of a result. I'm not a fan of that word. If you are REALLY going to do something, there would be an outcome, right? When you say you're going to "try", it's an excuse to not really get it done. If you find yourself doing this with your business, there is no time like the present to snap out of it and create a better plan so that you're actually doing, rather than just going through the motions of trying. Trust me, your bank account will thank you.

Have you heard the term, "how you do anything is how you do everything?" Keep in mind, no one stops you from doing anything, but you. Not to say there aren't many distractions throughout the day. Believe me, I'm the first one to admit to that and I used to place a lot of blame on others for why I couldn't get things done. If only my husband would---, if only my daughter would take longer naps, if only my clients would--- Stop worrying about what other people do, it's what you do that counts. What in your life is stopping you from having the business and income that you say you want? Whatever the answers, stop using them as excuses to stop yourself. Some of the biggest excuses are "I don't have the money" or "I don't have time" or I'm too busy". HOGWASH! You either have excuses or you have results. When it comes down to it, how badly do you want it? If you really want it, make the decision and make the time. Enough with the excuses already!! If you need more clients and you know you should be going to realtor association meetings to network with real estate agents, but you don't because you don't have time, you're creating your own demise. It could be as simple as putting the weekly meetings into your calendar so it's a scheduled appointment that you have to go to.

I've learned that I am solely responsible for the choices in my life - for every action and non-action. When I used to say I didn't have enough time, I couldn't honestly say that I spent all my time wisely. There were plenty of hours in front of the television watching mindless programs when I could have been doing more productive things. There may be a couch potato or two that can relate to that.

Really think about what you say and what you do. If there are incongruencies there, take a minute to think about that and see where you may need to change your behavior and start doing things differently. And believe me, the biggest challenge is not lack of knowledge, it's actually the lack of implementation and procrastination - both are self-sabotage techniques.

Are you willing to change your behavior and start doing things differently? Here are a 3 things to help you move closer to a better you. 1) Eliminate "try" from your vocabulary and replace it with DO because it's either you DO or you DON'T. Can't really argue with that. 2) Make a commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal - grow your business, make more money, strike a work/life balance and 3) hold yourself accountable (to someone else). That's why coaching and masterminding are so effective. If there is someone that you respect and trust will help keep you accountable, ask them to be your accountability partner and set a schedule to talk with one another regularly. I recently implemented this practice myself. My accountability partner and I are scheduled to talk every Monday at 10am for about 30 minutes. We do a quick email confirmation on Fridays that we're set to chat Monday and it's been very helpful to both of us already.

As we enter the new year, eliminate the excuses and behaviors that sabotage you. Take control of your actions and see what a difference it'll make. You'll thank youself.


© 2008 AKC Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but here's what you MUST include with it: Alice T. Chan, the Staging Designer's Success Coach, publishes the bi-weekly ezine "Set the Stage for Your Success". If you're ready to skyrocket your Staging Design business and gain credibility in record time, get your FREE tips now at www.SuccessfulStagingBiz.com.