June 27, 2025 • 33 mins
Excuses are masters at convincing us that something untrue is true, acting as a form of brainwashing that keeps us from reaching our goals. Success doesn't care what your excuse is—there are only two things: results or excuses.
• Growing up in McAllen, Texas, America's poorest city, with traumatic experiences including staring down the barrel of an assault rifle at age 14
• Losing his father in a plane crash during high school and being told he would never amount to anything
• Setting "absolutes" instead of goals—commitments you fulfill no matter what circumstances arise
• The inspiring story of Davis summiting Eagle Cap Mountain despite severe dehydration and vomiting blood
• Successful people see themselves having control over circumstances while unsuccessful people believe circumstances control them
• Hard doesn't mean impossible—hard means it's possible
• Top 10 excuses people use and why each one fails: "they ruined my life," "I have the worst luck," "things just didn't work out," etc.
• The transformative mantra: "There's always a way. It merely becomes our job to find that way"
• Taking action by identifying what got in your way before and creating solutions to overcome those obstacles
If you're ready to get over your fears, self-doubts and past failures and break through your comfort zone to reach the pinnacle of success in every area of your life, head over to terrylfossum.com to pick up your free gifts and so much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past
failures and you're ready tobreak through your comfort zones
to finally reach the pinnacleof success in every area of your
life, then this podcast is foryou.
Here's your host, Terry LFossum.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
The second bolt we're going to blow is excuses.
You're going to learn toidentify the excuses that have
held you back in the past andsee them for what they really
are they're merely excuses.
And if it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
You'll hear my top 10 list onways that we try to blame our
troubles on something or someoneelse and what to do about it.
You're not going to allowexcuses to brainwash you anymore
(00:55):
into believing it can't be done.
Why?
Because you're going to do it.
You're going to blow this bolt.
So let's get started.
You may have heard of mybackground.
I was raised in literally thepoorest city in the entire
United States of America, asmall Texas-Mexico border town
(01:17):
by the name of McAllen, texas.
Now you've almost certainlyheard of McAllen, texas If
you've watched the news andheard all about the border
crossings and everything goingon down there.
You've heard of McAllen.
Now, before you go, oh howterrible.
Know this.
I love my hometown.
I really do.
In my opinion, the people aregreat there, the weather's warm
(01:38):
pretty much year round and thefood is off the charts, but it
could be a little rough growingup there sometime with all the
gangs and the drugs.
In fact I'll never forget onenight when I was in middle
school, I was in my backyardthat warm evening and I heard a
noise in my back alley.
Now, if you're from myneighborhood and you hear a
(01:58):
sound, you check it out.
So I jumped over the back fencewith all the bluster of a
14-year-old boy.
Now understand, that's a really, really bad idea.
You don't want to be in my backalley at night.
But it got worse.
It got worse when, all of asudden, these headlights hit me.
(02:19):
Now that's bad, becauseheadlights of course means a car
.
A car probably means an adult.
An adult in my back alleyprobably means a drug deal going
down or a robbery or somethingmuch worse, none of which they
want a 14-year-old witness to.
And there I was, completelyexposed in the headlights.
(02:41):
Now that's bad.
But it got worse.
In fact it got a whole lotworse.
It got a lot worse when the guywalked out in front of those
headlights with an assault rifleand aimed it right at me.
Now, imagine that for a second14 years old staring down the
(03:04):
barrel of an assault rifle andwondering if your next breath
will be your last.
See, that's when I was inmiddle school, when I was in
high school, my father my dadwas killed in a plane crash.
Just like that.
I'd never see my dad again.
(03:26):
And know this, my dad and mymom had like as close to a
perfect relationship as possible.
They never even had a singlefight.
They were madly in love andjust like that.
My mom would never see my dadagain either.
That my mom would never see mydad again either.
(03:50):
Before he died, one of theneighbors came up to him and
said I just want to make sureyou understand something.
I want to make sure you knowthis those three boys of yours,
your three boys not a single oneof them will ever grow up to be
anything.
Let me repeat that Not a singleone of your boys will ever grow
up to be anything.
Let me repeat that Not a singleone of your boys will ever grow
up to be anything.
Can you imagine that?
(04:11):
I mean, there we were doing thebest we could with what we had,
but that was our expectationNever grow up to be anything.
So we could easily use that asour excuse.
Why even try?
You know we're not supposed togrow up to be anything.
Nobody would blame us.
Yeah, they had a really roughchildhood.
It was really tough and all ofthat kind of thing.
(04:31):
But here's the deal.
I believe the bolt that holdsmost people back from their
hopes and dreams than any of theothers is probably this one.
Excuses, that's right.
I believe this is the worst oneof all, the most powerful of
all.
And why is that?
Because we give them theirpower.
We actually believe the excusesthat we give are true.
(04:55):
We think that circumstancesreally did get in the way of us
achieving our goal.
We really believe that wedidn't have the time.
Excuses are masters Listen,this is important.
Excuses are masters at makingus believe that something that
just isn't true really is.
You know what the CIA calls thatBrainwashing.
(05:17):
That's right, brainwashing.
We believe something is truethat really isn't.
We actually believe that peopleor circumstances can keep us
from achieving our goals anddreams.
I just couldn't get to makingthat call today.
Yeah, you could.
You avoided it and you chose todo other things instead, like
(05:38):
check email or floss your cat.
I don't know, but the economyturned bad.
There's nothing I can do aboutthat.
My kid got sick, my carwouldn't start, the list goes on
and on.
Can you relate to any of thisBrainwashing?
They don't really have powerover us.
We can always figure out a wayaround them.
(06:00):
These things can't hold us backunless we let them.
And if you're sitting therethinking, well, yeah, sometimes
things do get in the way, thenguess what?
You've been brainwashed too.
You know, I joke about it.
But the serious truth is, untilyou reverse that thinking,
you're never going to reach yourgoals and dreams because things
(06:22):
will continue to get in the way.
Is that right?
It's true, things will keepgetting in the way if we let
them.
Because get this, this isimportant.
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is, isn't that right?
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is.
Let me say that again, and, ifyou're able to, I want you to
(06:42):
write this down.
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is.
The bottom line is the bottomline.
Did you get the job done?
And I want you to write thisone down as well.
This is important.
This is important.
There are two things results orexcuses.
Don't fool yourself.
If it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
(07:04):
I'll say it again there are twothings results or excuses.
Don't fool yourself.
If it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
Now, I know that this is a bitof tough love, but that's why
you're listening to this series,right?
You don't want me to go?
Well, it's all right.
(07:25):
You don't want to feel bad?
Just dream about unicorns andbunnies and it'll be okay.
No, you want me to tell you thetruth.
You want me to help you achieveyour goals.
You've tried before and it maynot have worked out the way you
wanted it to, and you want toknow why.
And, more importantly, you wantto do something about it.
Right?
(07:46):
This really hit me hard as Ibuilt my direct sales business,
because I kept setting goals andnot reaching them.
I'd attend some seminar and I'dget really pumped up.
I was really going to do greatthings and before I knew it, I
found myself right back where Iwas missing yet another goal.
So I decided to try somethingdifferent.
(08:07):
First step I want people tohelp me stick to my goals.
So I would get on a conferencecall at 6 am every morning with
three other people and we wouldtell what our goals for the day
were and how we did on our goalsyesterday.
See, I believe it's very helpfulhaving someone keep you
accountable, and that's whatthis was supposed to be, except
(08:31):
it wasn't.
It wasn't an accountabilitycall like it's supposed to be.
It was more like an excusesupport group.
That's right, an excuse supportgroup.
Hello, my name is Terry and I'man excuse-aholic.
Hi, terry.
But you see, an excuse supportgroup isn't what I wanted.
I wanted people to tell me whenI was lying to myself, making
(08:54):
excuses to help keep me on track.
I mean, I had the best excusein the world.
Okay, see, I started mybusiness when I was still a
captain in the United States AirForce.
I started my business when Iwas still a captain in the
United States Air Force.
In fact, I was the executiveofficer for an entire group of
nuclear B-52 bombers.
Now, that was a seriouslyintense job.
(09:14):
I didn't have time to eat.
I didn't have time to sleep.
Look, I didn't have time to pee.
Okay, in fact, in the topmiddle desk drawer of any XO you
will absolutely find a verylarge bottle of aspirin and a
bottle of Milanta.
No spoon, there's no time tomeasure.
You just take a swig when thestress was eating away at your
stomach lining, and you keepmoving quickly.
(09:35):
That's the way my life was.
But if I was going to build myclientele, it would be on a few
minutes a day.
Now I realized that wasn't thebest way to do it.
It's not the prime way to do it, but at least I could get
started and to leverage my timeI used videos that the company
produced.
I would say that I set a goalof handing out three videos a
(09:59):
day, but that's not entirelyaccurate, see.
I viewed a goal as somethingyou try to do, and that wasn't
good enough.
I needed to set something Iwould absolutely do, no matter
what.
So I didn't set a goal.
I didn't call it a goal, Icalled it an absolute.
(10:20):
My absolute was to absolutelyhand out three videos every
single day, no more, no less, nomatter what.
And that's exactly what I toldmy excuse support group.
Today, my absolute is to handout three videos to three brand
new prospects.
(10:40):
But here's the problem, see.
There was times when it would be10 o'clock at night and I would
be so tired that I was fallingasleep at my desk.
I would get up to leave and geta few hours sleep before I
started all over again the nextday.
So I'd stand up, getting readyto leave my desk.
(11:02):
I'd look down at my bag and seemy worst nightmare there was
still a video left.
So the brainwashing would setin.
Okay, get this.
So the brainwashing would setin.
Okay, get this.
I could easily make validexcuses if there were such a
thing.
Hey, most days I place threewith my schedule.
(11:22):
If I missed every once in awhile, people would certainly
understand right?
No, that's brainwashing.
The problem is, it doesn'tmatter what people think.
It doesn't matter if they buyoff on my excuses, my lies,
right.
It matters whether or not Ireach my excuses, my lies right.
It matters whether or not Ireach my goals.
If I stick to my plan, people,especially those close to you,
(11:43):
will empathize with you andoften support your decisions,
even if they're not the bestdecisions for the long run.
And you know why Becausethey're brainwashed too.
They're excuse-aholics.
Most people are, or everyonewould reach their goals.
So another option would be okay, I'll make up for it tomorrow.
(12:04):
Instead of placing three videostomorrow, I'll place four.
That would still average outthree per day.
No, that's not the plan.
If I slack today, I'll be morelikely to slack tomorrow.
Some other excuse will get inthe way and then two videos will
be the norm and then one, andbefore I know it, I've decided
that I'm just too busy to starta business at this time.
(12:27):
I'll wait until the timing isbetter and I quit.
And then I go from brainwashedto brain dead, from
excuse-a-holic to yet anothercasualty on the road to success.
So, no matter what time it wasor how tired I was or what
excuses I could come up with, Iwould get on the phone or go
(12:50):
around in person until I foundsomeone to give that last video
to.
I stuck to my plan no matterwhat.
So when I got on the phone eachand every morning with my
excuse support group, I wouldannounce that I had reached my
absolutes.
I ended up building teamsaround the globe and making a
(13:10):
lot of money.
Very, very blessed Get this.
The other three people on thephone believed their excuses and
were validated by the others onthe phone who believed theirs
too.
Do you know who they are?
No, now, neither does the restof the world.
I mean, they're wonderfulpeople, they're dear people,
(13:33):
absolutely, but they're stillexcuse-a-holics.
Now I've heard all sorts ofexcuses from people on why they
can't be successful.
One of my favorites was well, Ijust don't have the money for
that.
And then they would go buytheir expensive coffee or
cigarettes.
If you don't have the money ittakes for your goal, then don't
(13:55):
use that as an excuse.
Figure out how to earn and savemoney.
Remember, there's always a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
On a 50-mile backpacking tripdeep into the Eagle Cap
Wilderness area of WashingtonState, one of our party became
severely dehydrated A17-year-old boy by the name of
(14:19):
Davis.
As a result of the extremedehydration, his nasal passages
began cracking and blood flowedfrom his nose.
And we were scheduled to summitEagle Cap Mountain the next day
.
But we knew that we'd have toleave Davis behind at the base
camp, along with the others whowere too infirmed or injured to
make the final thrust to thepeak, that night things got
(14:41):
worse for Davis Because heswallowed so much of his own
blood he began throwing up blood.
In fact, he was throwing upblood all night long.
His tent looked like a massmurder scene.
There was blood all over in histent, blood on his sleeping bag
, on his clothes, everywhere.
It was gnarly.
Now, of course, he slept verylittle that night.
(15:04):
Next morning he looked likehe'd gotten in a fight with a
bear, with his sunken eyes, paleskin, blood all over his face.
But we noticed something aboutDavis that morning there was a
spark in those sunken eyes.
Granted, it was a dim spark,but it was a spark nonetheless.
(15:25):
Then we noticed something elseas we were putting our gear
together to make the final pushup the mountain.
So was Davis.
What are you doing?
I asked him.
I'm getting ready to summit.
He replied, just like matter offact.
Are you crazy?
You're barely able to stand up.
There's no way in the worldyou're going to make it to the
top.
I was making his excuses forhim.
(15:49):
I was that guy.
But he looked me square in theeyes and he said look, for the
rest of my life I'm going tolook back at this moment.
Will I look back at it as thetime I quit or the time that I
kept going, no matter what, Ihave to try.
Wow, I was blown away, and ifDavis was going to do it, I was
(16:13):
going to be there with him.
So Davis and I walked side byside up that mountain.
I mean, a turtle could havepassed us without even breaking
a sweat.
I'm serious.
But we kept pushing forward.
Several times we had to stop,but every time he kept going.
The other hikers passed us,made it to the top relatively
quickly.
Davis didn't care.
He realized the competitionwasn't with them but was with
(16:39):
himself.
The altitude was growing higherand the air was thinning,
making even breathing a chore.
We couldn't see the top fromwhere we were.
We couldn't see if we wereclose or still a long ways away.
We could only see the pathdirectly ahead of us, step by
painful step.
(17:01):
Davis had every excuse in theworld not to summit that day.
No one would have faulted himfor not trying, for staying back
.
Those of us who had his bestinterest in mind tried to talk
him out of it.
And if he hadn't tried, hewould have been completely
justified and he wouldn't havereached the top.
(17:26):
He would have stayed in histent talking about why he wasn't
able to do it, with everyonearound him agreeing Yep, it was
a good thing you didn't try.
It would have been impossible.
You did the right thing.
Wow.
Does this ring true to anythingelse?
You've heard Any otherconversations you've had?
(17:46):
See, the thing was it wasn'timpossible, it was hard.
But hard means that it'spossible.
I want to say that again Hardmeans that it's possible.
So if you or someone else says,but it's hard, I want you to
change that statement right nowin your head.
(18:06):
If hard equals possible, thenit's hard means, but it's
possible.
That right there is a huge mindshift that can make the
difference from you quitting orsucceeding, from giving up or
getting on, from whining towinning.
See, no matter what David'sexcuse was, no matter what his
(18:27):
reason was for not attemptingthe summit that day, the bottom
line was he wouldn't havesummited Eagle Cap.
He would have never known theview from the top.
But the fact is, davis didsummit his mountain that day.
There may be no better feelingin the world than knowing that
(18:51):
you faced terrible obstacles,you endured terrible pain, but
you kept going, no matter what,and reached your goal, reached
your own pinnacle.
The difference betweensuccessful people and
unsuccessful people is thatunsuccessful people see
circumstances having controlover them and successful people
(19:14):
see themselves having controlover their circumstances.
Unsuccessful people believethat the universe has complete
power over them and they can'tchange it.
They make excuses.
Successful people realize theycreate their own world by the
actions they take or do not takeevery day.
1973 saw the stock marketcrashing in the US and abroad.
(19:38):
The oil crisis hit, followed bythe steel crisis and abroad the
oil crisis hit, followed by thesteel crisis.
1974 saw the largest drop indurable goods in a generation.
In 1975, unemployment wasthrough the roof.
Obviously, it just wasn't theright time to start a business.
But that's not true.
(19:59):
That's a lie disguised as thetruth.
That's brainwashing.
The best time to start abusiness, or do anything else
for that matter, is right now.
The worst time is when thetiming is better.
During that time, he startedMicrosoft and became one of the
(20:21):
richest men in the world.
And let's take that a stepfurther.
The Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation has donated millions
and millions of dollars toextremely worthwhile charities
around the world and changed thelives of countless people.
What would have happened ifBill made the excuse oh, the
economy isn't bad right now.
People aren't spending moneythat they don't have.
(20:43):
It's the worst time possible tostart a new business,
especially starting an entirenew industry to convince people
to buy something they've neverneeded before.
He may never have changed theworld as we know it, and all
those people that he's helpedwould never have been helped.
But they were, because Billchose not to make excuses and to
(21:07):
take action.
So again, there's two thingsresults or excuses.
Don't fool yourself If it's nota result, it's merely an excuse
.
Here's one final illustrationfor you.
Two men set off on a foot race.
In a short time they cameacross a huge boulder that had
fallen across the path.
Well, how in the world are wesupposed to run a race when
(21:31):
there's a boulder in the way?
One man complained how could weget hurt trying to get over
that thing?
We could sprain an ankle, andthen where would we be.
That's terrible.
Someone should do somethingabout this.
It's just not fair.
And he turned around and wenthome voicing his disapproval to
anyone who would listen thesedays.
(21:52):
Put it on Facebook, right.
The other man kept his eye onthe finish line, climbing over
the boulder and won.
Now it sounds ridiculous,doesn't it?
And yet that's the way peopleact all the time, isn't it?
They focus on the excuses andgive those excuses power.
(22:13):
They can't see past the boulderto the finish line.
And if you listen to therecording about overcoming fear,
you remember how we talkedabout not focusing on your fear,
but focusing past your fear tothe goal, because if you focus
on the fear, it gives it morepower.
A martial artist breaking aboard doesn't focus on the board
(22:33):
.
He focuses past the board towhere he wants his hand to end
up.
And it's exactly the sameconcept with excuses.
If you focus on the excuse, itbecomes more real, it becomes
more clear, more powerful.
If Richard Branson had focusedon the fact that he was dyslexic
, he never would have become assuccessful as he did.
(22:56):
Nor would Steve Jobs or WinstonChurchill or Albert Einstein,
steven Spielberg, so many more.
They focused past theirchallenge at their goal.
They focused on the solutioninstead of the problem.
Now I'm going to give you my top10 excuse list.
This is just something I havefun with.
(23:17):
This is the top 10 ways we tryto blame our troubles on
something else or someone elseand what to do about it.
Again, just a fun thing, okay.
And as I'm saying them, I wantto see if you've seen or heard
any of these used before, maybeeven by yourself.
Okay, drum roll, please.
Here we go, number 10 on ourlist how do we blame our
(23:38):
troubles on something or someoneelse?
Number 10, they ruined my life.
Have you heard that one before?
Here's the truth.
No one can ruin your life butyourself.
That's right.
No one can ruin your life butyourself.
They can only try, but only youcan let them.
(23:59):
What's the solution?
Don't let them.
How Get back to work.
You're going to see that as arecurring theme here.
Now number nine, on the ways wetry to blame our troubles on
something or someone else.
I have the worst luck.
Have you heard that one before?
Other versions of this are wellknowing my luck or with my luck
, and then they say somethingbad they expect to happen.
Here's the harsh truth, whichis what you want from me, right?
(24:22):
I've learned that the best luckcomes to those who get up off
their butts, stop looking attheir failures and start looking
at their successes.
Then they realize that theirluck is actually really really
good.
Think about it.
What are some of the things yousucceeded at?
A relationship, raising afamily, doing something good at
(24:43):
work or at home?
Odds are really really highthat you've had more successes
than failures.
So focus on those and realizethat you truly have the best
luck and get back to work.
Number eight, on our countdown.
Well, things just didn't workout.
No, no, no, no, no.
It's not that things didn'twork out, it's you gave up
(25:05):
before they could.
You forgot my phrase.
There's always a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
Instead of looking forsolutions, you looked at the
problem.
So refocus and guess what I'mabout to say.
Guess what it is.
That's right.
Get back to work.
Number seven on our top 10countdowns of ways.
We try to blame our troubles onsomething or someone else and
oldie but a goodie, the timingwas bad.
(25:27):
The timing was bad.
Listen.
Like we talked about thetiming's never perfect.
Something will always try toget in the way and thwart your
success.
The perfect time to startanything is right now.
So do it.
Get back to work.
Number six on our countdown I'mnot as good as other people.
Listen, I actually fall intothis one myself.
(25:54):
I look at some of these amazinggurus out there and think
there's no way I can be as goodas them.
It's true, but guess what?
I'm as good as me.
And let's face it, you'relistening to my top 10 list, so
maybe I'm not that bad.
After all, I got to stopfocusing on that.
Listen, you don't have to bethe best, you only have to be
your best.
Please keep that in mind.
You don't have to be the best,you only have to be your best.
(26:18):
There's always people out therewho can learn from you and
people you can learn from.
So, just like I'm doing, getover yourself and your
insecurities and get back towork.
Number five, one of my favoritesI'm not blank enough.
I'm not blank enough.
Insert your own excuse in thatblank.
You know, it may be that I'mnot old enough, or young enough,
(26:42):
or smart enough, or savvyenough, or man.
The excuses can go on and onand on.
Right, well, guess what?
There's always someone smarteror faster or better or whatever.
Nearly every single person onthe face of the earth believes
that there's someone better outthere.
And guess what?
Depending on the day or thecircumstances, they're right,
(27:03):
but they still succeed.
And so can you Get over it?
Get back to work.
Number four is we're speedingthese up a bit.
You don't know where I came from, or you don't know me.
You know what?
You don't know where I camefrom.
You're right.
I don't know where you camefrom, guess what, I don't care.
Sorry, you don't know where Icame from.
(27:24):
You're right, I don't knowwhere you came from, guess what,
I don't care.
Sorry, but I don't care whereyou came from, I only care where
you're going to.
Don't dwell in the past.
Focus on the future.
Get back to work.
Number three on our top 10 wayspeople try to blame their
troubles on something or someoneelse.
You don't have the samechallenges I do, you're right.
Challenges I do, you're right,maybe I don't, but I have
(27:45):
challenges that you don't have.
I just haven't shown you whatthey are.
I've hidden them from you.
That's right.
I've hidden them from you.
Just like everyone else, I putup a public face that makes you
think everything is perfect.
But you know what?
I've challenges too, but Idon't let them hold me back
Guess what.
But I don't let them hold meback Guess what?
Many people have had far worsechallenges than you and I and
(28:06):
have done better, because theydidn't let that be an excuse.
Learn from them and get back towork.
And now number two on yourlistening dial, listen to this
one.
This is a biggie.
Number two is I just don't wantto.
I just don't want to Wow.
I just don't want to.
I just don't want to Wow, Ijust don't want to.
Guess what.
I can't help you.
(28:28):
That's right.
I can't help you.
You have to want it for yourself.
Keep that in mind with otherpeople too.
They have to want it forthemselves, or there's nothing
that I or anyone else can do foryou or them.
The fire has to come fromwithin.
I told you from the beginningthat some of my love would be
tough love, but sometimes thatkick in the butt is exactly what
(28:51):
we need to hear.
So here it is.
If your heels are dug in, thatyou just don't want to.
All right going to be toughwith you.
Here it is.
You know what.
Just go ahead and wallow inthat self-pity long enough.
That's it.
Go ahead when your need becomesstrong enough to overcome your
excuses.
When your need becomes strongenough to overcome your excuses,
(29:15):
look me up if you can find me,but for now, you guessed it.
Get back to work.
And finally, our chart topper,the number one spot on our list
of ways we try to blame troubleson something or someone else.
Well, it's too late now.
It's too late now, ball, ifyou're listening to this, it's
(29:37):
not too late.
The second you're donelistening to this, maybe even
before.
Take your first step on yournew journey and get back to work
.
I started acting in my 50s.
That's way too late.
Forget about it.
There's no way in the world.
And I got best supporting actorat the 2021 Christian Film
(29:57):
Festival.
I got on a survival realityshow as the oldest person on the
show, in my 50s, and won alongwith my partner.
It is never too late.
I'm doing this at age 58 yearsold Right now, recording this at
age 58.
I could be done, but you knowwhat I'm not done.
(30:19):
It's never too late.
If you think it is, it's timeto take that first step on your
new journey and get back to work.
So that's it.
That's my top 10 list of ways wetry to blame our troubles on
something or someone else, andwhat to do about it.
So have you heard any of thoseexcuses before?
Maybe even from your own lips.
(30:40):
Well, now you recognize themfor what they are.
They're excuses, and you knowthat excuses are merely lies.
We tell ourselves when we wantto believe it's not our fault,
but it really is Okay.
So exercise time.
I want you to do this.
Pull out a pen or paper ordigital device or whatever you
(31:01):
use, but pull out something andI want you to write this down.
Okay, here we go.
What things did you let get inthe way of you succeeding in the
past?
Let me say it again what thingsdid you let get in the way of
you succeeding in the past?
Take some time, write them down.
Good, turn this off if you needto, please.
(31:26):
Okay, now you've identified theproblem, onto the important part
, the solution.
What actions can you take toget around those problems?
Truly, take some time to writedown the solutions next to the
problems so you can see them, soyou can focus on them.
You can focus on the solutioninstead of the problem.
(31:46):
Take some time and do this.
It's very important that you doAgain.
You don't want to just listento this so you can go wow, this
was a cool recording.
You want to take actionsthat'll make a difference in
your life, so I want you to dothat.
It's very important.
All right, this has been thefirst step of getting over the
brainwashing.
Now we see excuses for whatthey truly are lies, we tell
(32:10):
ourselves, by understanding thatwe've taken away the power they
used to hold over us.
We no longer believe thatthey're true, that they can
actually hold us back fromachieving our goals, achieving
our hopes, achieving our dreams.
We have the power to find outways to achieve.
Despite the excuses, we canfind the workaround.
(32:32):
Our new mantra is there'salways a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
Let me say that again there'salways a way.
The solution exists, it's outthere.
So now that I know that itmerely becomes my job to find
that way, we'll no longer beexcuse-aholics.
(32:55):
We'll look past the obstaclesto our goal and, just like the
story of Admiral Farragut before, damn the torpedoes, full speed
ahead.
You got this Congratulations,you now have the power to blow
that bolt.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback
Chronicles.
Head on over to Apple Podcastsor wherever you listen, and
subscribe to the show.
If you're ready to get overyour fears, self-doubts and past
failures and break through yourcomfort zone to reach the
pinnacle of success in everyarea of your life, head over to
terrielfawesomecom to pick upyour free gifts and so much more
(33:39):
.
We'll see you next week on theComeback Chronicles podcast.
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past
failures and you're ready tobreak through your comfort zones
to finally reach the pinnacleof success in every area of your
life, then this podcast is foryou.
Here's your host, Terry LFossum.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
The second bolt we're going to blow is excuses.
You're going to learn toidentify the excuses that have
held you back in the past andsee them for what they really
are they're merely excuses.
And if it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
You'll hear my top 10 list onways that we try to blame our
troubles on something or someoneelse and what to do about it.
You're not going to allowexcuses to brainwash you anymore
(00:55):
into believing it can't be done.
Why?
Because you're going to do it.
You're going to blow this bolt.
So let's get started.
You may have heard of mybackground.
I was raised in literally thepoorest city in the entire
United States of America, asmall Texas-Mexico border town
(01:17):
by the name of McAllen, texas.
Now you've almost certainlyheard of McAllen, texas If
you've watched the news andheard all about the border
crossings and everything goingon down there.
You've heard of McAllen.
Now, before you go, oh howterrible.
Know this.
I love my hometown.
I really do.
In my opinion, the people aregreat there, the weather's warm
(01:38):
pretty much year round and thefood is off the charts, but it
could be a little rough growingup there sometime with all the
gangs and the drugs.
In fact I'll never forget onenight when I was in middle
school, I was in my backyardthat warm evening and I heard a
noise in my back alley.
Now, if you're from myneighborhood and you hear a
(01:58):
sound, you check it out.
So I jumped over the back fencewith all the bluster of a
14-year-old boy.
Now understand, that's a really, really bad idea.
You don't want to be in my backalley at night.
But it got worse.
It got worse when, all of asudden, these headlights hit me.
(02:19):
Now that's bad, becauseheadlights of course means a car
.
A car probably means an adult.
An adult in my back alleyprobably means a drug deal going
down or a robbery or somethingmuch worse, none of which they
want a 14-year-old witness to.
And there I was, completelyexposed in the headlights.
(02:41):
Now that's bad.
But it got worse.
In fact it got a whole lotworse.
It got a lot worse when the guywalked out in front of those
headlights with an assault rifleand aimed it right at me.
Now, imagine that for a second14 years old staring down the
(03:04):
barrel of an assault rifle andwondering if your next breath
will be your last.
See, that's when I was inmiddle school, when I was in
high school, my father my dadwas killed in a plane crash.
Just like that.
I'd never see my dad again.
(03:26):
And know this, my dad and mymom had like as close to a
perfect relationship as possible.
They never even had a singlefight.
They were madly in love andjust like that.
My mom would never see my dadagain either.
That my mom would never see mydad again either.
(03:50):
Before he died, one of theneighbors came up to him and
said I just want to make sureyou understand something.
I want to make sure you knowthis those three boys of yours,
your three boys not a single oneof them will ever grow up to be
anything.
Let me repeat that Not a singleone of your boys will ever grow
up to be anything.
Let me repeat that Not a singleone of your boys will ever grow
up to be anything.
Can you imagine that?
(04:11):
I mean, there we were doing thebest we could with what we had,
but that was our expectationNever grow up to be anything.
So we could easily use that asour excuse.
Why even try?
You know we're not supposed togrow up to be anything.
Nobody would blame us.
Yeah, they had a really roughchildhood.
It was really tough and all ofthat kind of thing.
(04:31):
But here's the deal.
I believe the bolt that holdsmost people back from their
hopes and dreams than any of theothers is probably this one.
Excuses, that's right.
I believe this is the worst oneof all, the most powerful of
all.
And why is that?
Because we give them theirpower.
We actually believe the excusesthat we give are true.
(04:55):
We think that circumstancesreally did get in the way of us
achieving our goal.
We really believe that wedidn't have the time.
Excuses are masters Listen,this is important.
Excuses are masters at makingus believe that something that
just isn't true really is.
You know what the CIA calls thatBrainwashing.
(05:17):
That's right, brainwashing.
We believe something is truethat really isn't.
We actually believe that peopleor circumstances can keep us
from achieving our goals anddreams.
I just couldn't get to makingthat call today.
Yeah, you could.
You avoided it and you chose todo other things instead, like
(05:38):
check email or floss your cat.
I don't know, but the economyturned bad.
There's nothing I can do aboutthat.
My kid got sick, my carwouldn't start, the list goes on
and on.
Can you relate to any of thisBrainwashing?
They don't really have powerover us.
We can always figure out a wayaround them.
(06:00):
These things can't hold us backunless we let them.
And if you're sitting therethinking, well, yeah, sometimes
things do get in the way, thenguess what?
You've been brainwashed too.
You know, I joke about it.
But the serious truth is, untilyou reverse that thinking,
you're never going to reach yourgoals and dreams because things
(06:22):
will continue to get in the way.
Is that right?
It's true, things will keepgetting in the way if we let
them.
Because get this, this isimportant.
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is, isn't that right?
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is.
Let me say that again, and, ifyou're able to, I want you to
(06:42):
write this down.
Success doesn't care what yourexcuse is.
The bottom line is the bottomline.
Did you get the job done?
And I want you to write thisone down as well.
This is important.
This is important.
There are two things results orexcuses.
Don't fool yourself.
If it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
(07:04):
I'll say it again there are twothings results or excuses.
Don't fool yourself.
If it's not a result, it'smerely an excuse.
Now, I know that this is a bitof tough love, but that's why
you're listening to this series,right?
You don't want me to go?
Well, it's all right.
(07:25):
You don't want to feel bad?
Just dream about unicorns andbunnies and it'll be okay.
No, you want me to tell you thetruth.
You want me to help you achieveyour goals.
You've tried before and it maynot have worked out the way you
wanted it to, and you want toknow why.
And, more importantly, you wantto do something about it.
Right?
(07:46):
This really hit me hard as Ibuilt my direct sales business,
because I kept setting goals andnot reaching them.
I'd attend some seminar and I'dget really pumped up.
I was really going to do greatthings and before I knew it, I
found myself right back where Iwas missing yet another goal.
So I decided to try somethingdifferent.
(08:07):
First step I want people tohelp me stick to my goals.
So I would get on a conferencecall at 6 am every morning with
three other people and we wouldtell what our goals for the day
were and how we did on our goalsyesterday.
See, I believe it's very helpfulhaving someone keep you
accountable, and that's whatthis was supposed to be, except
(08:31):
it wasn't.
It wasn't an accountabilitycall like it's supposed to be.
It was more like an excusesupport group.
That's right, an excuse supportgroup.
Hello, my name is Terry and I'man excuse-aholic.
Hi, terry.
But you see, an excuse supportgroup isn't what I wanted.
I wanted people to tell me whenI was lying to myself, making
(08:54):
excuses to help keep me on track.
I mean, I had the best excusein the world.
Okay, see, I started mybusiness when I was still a
captain in the United States AirForce.
I started my business when Iwas still a captain in the
United States Air Force.
In fact, I was the executiveofficer for an entire group of
nuclear B-52 bombers.
Now, that was a seriouslyintense job.
(09:14):
I didn't have time to eat.
I didn't have time to sleep.
Look, I didn't have time to pee.
Okay, in fact, in the topmiddle desk drawer of any XO you
will absolutely find a verylarge bottle of aspirin and a
bottle of Milanta.
No spoon, there's no time tomeasure.
You just take a swig when thestress was eating away at your
stomach lining, and you keepmoving quickly.
(09:35):
That's the way my life was.
But if I was going to build myclientele, it would be on a few
minutes a day.
Now I realized that wasn't thebest way to do it.
It's not the prime way to do it, but at least I could get
started and to leverage my timeI used videos that the company
produced.
I would say that I set a goalof handing out three videos a
(09:59):
day, but that's not entirelyaccurate, see.
I viewed a goal as somethingyou try to do, and that wasn't
good enough.
I needed to set something Iwould absolutely do, no matter
what.
So I didn't set a goal.
I didn't call it a goal, Icalled it an absolute.
(10:20):
My absolute was to absolutelyhand out three videos every
single day, no more, no less, nomatter what.
And that's exactly what I toldmy excuse support group.
Today, my absolute is to handout three videos to three brand
new prospects.
(10:40):
But here's the problem, see.
There was times when it would be10 o'clock at night and I would
be so tired that I was fallingasleep at my desk.
I would get up to leave and geta few hours sleep before I
started all over again the nextday.
So I'd stand up, getting readyto leave my desk.
(11:02):
I'd look down at my bag and seemy worst nightmare there was
still a video left.
So the brainwashing would setin.
Okay, get this.
So the brainwashing would setin.
Okay, get this.
I could easily make validexcuses if there were such a
thing.
Hey, most days I place threewith my schedule.
(11:22):
If I missed every once in awhile, people would certainly
understand right?
No, that's brainwashing.
The problem is, it doesn'tmatter what people think.
It doesn't matter if they buyoff on my excuses, my lies,
right.
It matters whether or not Ireach my excuses, my lies right.
It matters whether or not Ireach my goals.
If I stick to my plan, people,especially those close to you,
(11:43):
will empathize with you andoften support your decisions,
even if they're not the bestdecisions for the long run.
And you know why Becausethey're brainwashed too.
They're excuse-aholics.
Most people are, or everyonewould reach their goals.
So another option would be okay, I'll make up for it tomorrow.
(12:04):
Instead of placing three videostomorrow, I'll place four.
That would still average outthree per day.
No, that's not the plan.
If I slack today, I'll be morelikely to slack tomorrow.
Some other excuse will get inthe way and then two videos will
be the norm and then one, andbefore I know it, I've decided
that I'm just too busy to starta business at this time.
(12:27):
I'll wait until the timing isbetter and I quit.
And then I go from brainwashedto brain dead, from
excuse-a-holic to yet anothercasualty on the road to success.
So, no matter what time it wasor how tired I was or what
excuses I could come up with, Iwould get on the phone or go
(12:50):
around in person until I foundsomeone to give that last video
to.
I stuck to my plan no matterwhat.
So when I got on the phone eachand every morning with my
excuse support group, I wouldannounce that I had reached my
absolutes.
I ended up building teamsaround the globe and making a
(13:10):
lot of money.
Very, very blessed Get this.
The other three people on thephone believed their excuses and
were validated by the others onthe phone who believed theirs
too.
Do you know who they are?
No, now, neither does the restof the world.
I mean, they're wonderfulpeople, they're dear people,
(13:33):
absolutely, but they're stillexcuse-a-holics.
Now I've heard all sorts ofexcuses from people on why they
can't be successful.
One of my favorites was well, Ijust don't have the money for
that.
And then they would go buytheir expensive coffee or
cigarettes.
If you don't have the money ittakes for your goal, then don't
(13:55):
use that as an excuse.
Figure out how to earn and savemoney.
Remember, there's always a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
On a 50-mile backpacking tripdeep into the Eagle Cap
Wilderness area of WashingtonState, one of our party became
severely dehydrated A17-year-old boy by the name of
(14:19):
Davis.
As a result of the extremedehydration, his nasal passages
began cracking and blood flowedfrom his nose.
And we were scheduled to summitEagle Cap Mountain the next day
.
But we knew that we'd have toleave Davis behind at the base
camp, along with the others whowere too infirmed or injured to
make the final thrust to thepeak, that night things got
(14:41):
worse for Davis Because heswallowed so much of his own
blood he began throwing up blood.
In fact, he was throwing upblood all night long.
His tent looked like a massmurder scene.
There was blood all over in histent, blood on his sleeping bag
, on his clothes, everywhere.
It was gnarly.
Now, of course, he slept verylittle that night.
(15:04):
Next morning he looked likehe'd gotten in a fight with a
bear, with his sunken eyes, paleskin, blood all over his face.
But we noticed something aboutDavis that morning there was a
spark in those sunken eyes.
Granted, it was a dim spark,but it was a spark nonetheless.
(15:25):
Then we noticed something elseas we were putting our gear
together to make the final pushup the mountain.
So was Davis.
What are you doing?
I asked him.
I'm getting ready to summit.
He replied, just like matter offact.
Are you crazy?
You're barely able to stand up.
There's no way in the worldyou're going to make it to the
top.
I was making his excuses forhim.
(15:49):
I was that guy.
But he looked me square in theeyes and he said look, for the
rest of my life I'm going tolook back at this moment.
Will I look back at it as thetime I quit or the time that I
kept going, no matter what, Ihave to try.
Wow, I was blown away, and ifDavis was going to do it, I was
(16:13):
going to be there with him.
So Davis and I walked side byside up that mountain.
I mean, a turtle could havepassed us without even breaking
a sweat.
I'm serious.
But we kept pushing forward.
Several times we had to stop,but every time he kept going.
The other hikers passed us,made it to the top relatively
quickly.
Davis didn't care.
He realized the competitionwasn't with them but was with
(16:39):
himself.
The altitude was growing higherand the air was thinning,
making even breathing a chore.
We couldn't see the top fromwhere we were.
We couldn't see if we wereclose or still a long ways away.
We could only see the pathdirectly ahead of us, step by
painful step.
(17:01):
Davis had every excuse in theworld not to summit that day.
No one would have faulted himfor not trying, for staying back
.
Those of us who had his bestinterest in mind tried to talk
him out of it.
And if he hadn't tried, hewould have been completely
justified and he wouldn't havereached the top.
(17:26):
He would have stayed in histent talking about why he wasn't
able to do it, with everyonearound him agreeing Yep, it was
a good thing you didn't try.
It would have been impossible.
You did the right thing.
Wow.
Does this ring true to anythingelse?
You've heard Any otherconversations you've had?
(17:46):
See, the thing was it wasn'timpossible, it was hard.
But hard means that it'spossible.
I want to say that again Hardmeans that it's possible.
So if you or someone else says,but it's hard, I want you to
change that statement right nowin your head.
(18:06):
If hard equals possible, thenit's hard means, but it's
possible.
That right there is a huge mindshift that can make the
difference from you quitting orsucceeding, from giving up or
getting on, from whining towinning.
See, no matter what David'sexcuse was, no matter what his
(18:27):
reason was for not attemptingthe summit that day, the bottom
line was he wouldn't havesummited Eagle Cap.
He would have never known theview from the top.
But the fact is, davis didsummit his mountain that day.
There may be no better feelingin the world than knowing that
(18:51):
you faced terrible obstacles,you endured terrible pain, but
you kept going, no matter what,and reached your goal, reached
your own pinnacle.
The difference betweensuccessful people and
unsuccessful people is thatunsuccessful people see
circumstances having controlover them and successful people
(19:14):
see themselves having controlover their circumstances.
Unsuccessful people believethat the universe has complete
power over them and they can'tchange it.
They make excuses.
Successful people realize theycreate their own world by the
actions they take or do not takeevery day.
1973 saw the stock marketcrashing in the US and abroad.
(19:38):
The oil crisis hit, followed bythe steel crisis and abroad the
oil crisis hit, followed by thesteel crisis.
1974 saw the largest drop indurable goods in a generation.
In 1975, unemployment wasthrough the roof.
Obviously, it just wasn't theright time to start a business.
But that's not true.
(19:59):
That's a lie disguised as thetruth.
That's brainwashing.
The best time to start abusiness, or do anything else
for that matter, is right now.
The worst time is when thetiming is better.
During that time, he startedMicrosoft and became one of the
(20:21):
richest men in the world.
And let's take that a stepfurther.
The Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation has donated millions
and millions of dollars toextremely worthwhile charities
around the world and changed thelives of countless people.
What would have happened ifBill made the excuse oh, the
economy isn't bad right now.
People aren't spending moneythat they don't have.
(20:43):
It's the worst time possible tostart a new business,
especially starting an entirenew industry to convince people
to buy something they've neverneeded before.
He may never have changed theworld as we know it, and all
those people that he's helpedwould never have been helped.
But they were, because Billchose not to make excuses and to
(21:07):
take action.
So again, there's two thingsresults or excuses.
Don't fool yourself If it's nota result, it's merely an excuse
.
Here's one final illustrationfor you.
Two men set off on a foot race.
In a short time they cameacross a huge boulder that had
fallen across the path.
Well, how in the world are wesupposed to run a race when
(21:31):
there's a boulder in the way?
One man complained how could weget hurt trying to get over
that thing?
We could sprain an ankle, andthen where would we be.
That's terrible.
Someone should do somethingabout this.
It's just not fair.
And he turned around and wenthome voicing his disapproval to
anyone who would listen thesedays.
(21:52):
Put it on Facebook, right.
The other man kept his eye onthe finish line, climbing over
the boulder and won.
Now it sounds ridiculous,doesn't it?
And yet that's the way peopleact all the time, isn't it?
They focus on the excuses andgive those excuses power.
(22:13):
They can't see past the boulderto the finish line.
And if you listen to therecording about overcoming fear,
you remember how we talkedabout not focusing on your fear,
but focusing past your fear tothe goal, because if you focus
on the fear, it gives it morepower.
A martial artist breaking aboard doesn't focus on the board
(22:33):
.
He focuses past the board towhere he wants his hand to end
up.
And it's exactly the sameconcept with excuses.
If you focus on the excuse, itbecomes more real, it becomes
more clear, more powerful.
If Richard Branson had focusedon the fact that he was dyslexic
, he never would have become assuccessful as he did.
(22:56):
Nor would Steve Jobs or WinstonChurchill or Albert Einstein,
steven Spielberg, so many more.
They focused past theirchallenge at their goal.
They focused on the solutioninstead of the problem.
Now I'm going to give you my top10 excuse list.
This is just something I havefun with.
(23:17):
This is the top 10 ways we tryto blame our troubles on
something else or someone elseand what to do about it.
Again, just a fun thing, okay.
And as I'm saying them, I wantto see if you've seen or heard
any of these used before, maybeeven by yourself.
Okay, drum roll, please.
Here we go, number 10 on ourlist how do we blame our
(23:38):
troubles on something or someoneelse?
Number 10, they ruined my life.
Have you heard that one before?
Here's the truth.
No one can ruin your life butyourself.
That's right.
No one can ruin your life butyourself.
They can only try, but only youcan let them.
(23:59):
What's the solution?
Don't let them.
How Get back to work.
You're going to see that as arecurring theme here.
Now number nine, on the ways wetry to blame our troubles on
something or someone else.
I have the worst luck.
Have you heard that one before?
Other versions of this are wellknowing my luck or with my luck
, and then they say somethingbad they expect to happen.
Here's the harsh truth, whichis what you want from me, right?
(24:22):
I've learned that the best luckcomes to those who get up off
their butts, stop looking attheir failures and start looking
at their successes.
Then they realize that theirluck is actually really really
good.
Think about it.
What are some of the things yousucceeded at?
A relationship, raising afamily, doing something good at
(24:43):
work or at home?
Odds are really really highthat you've had more successes
than failures.
So focus on those and realizethat you truly have the best
luck and get back to work.
Number eight, on our countdown.
Well, things just didn't workout.
No, no, no, no, no.
It's not that things didn'twork out, it's you gave up
(25:05):
before they could.
You forgot my phrase.
There's always a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
Instead of looking forsolutions, you looked at the
problem.
So refocus and guess what I'mabout to say.
Guess what it is.
That's right.
Get back to work.
Number seven on our top 10countdowns of ways.
We try to blame our troubles onsomething or someone else and
oldie but a goodie, the timingwas bad.
(25:27):
The timing was bad.
Listen.
Like we talked about thetiming's never perfect.
Something will always try toget in the way and thwart your
success.
The perfect time to startanything is right now.
So do it.
Get back to work.
Number six on our countdown I'mnot as good as other people.
Listen, I actually fall intothis one myself.
(25:54):
I look at some of these amazinggurus out there and think
there's no way I can be as goodas them.
It's true, but guess what?
I'm as good as me.
And let's face it, you'relistening to my top 10 list, so
maybe I'm not that bad.
After all, I got to stopfocusing on that.
Listen, you don't have to bethe best, you only have to be
your best.
Please keep that in mind.
You don't have to be the best,you only have to be your best.
(26:18):
There's always people out therewho can learn from you and
people you can learn from.
So, just like I'm doing, getover yourself and your
insecurities and get back towork.
Number five, one of my favoritesI'm not blank enough.
I'm not blank enough.
Insert your own excuse in thatblank.
You know, it may be that I'mnot old enough, or young enough,
(26:42):
or smart enough, or savvyenough, or man.
The excuses can go on and onand on.
Right, well, guess what?
There's always someone smarteror faster or better or whatever.
Nearly every single person onthe face of the earth believes
that there's someone better outthere.
And guess what?
Depending on the day or thecircumstances, they're right,
(27:03):
but they still succeed.
And so can you Get over it?
Get back to work.
Number four is we're speedingthese up a bit.
You don't know where I came from, or you don't know me.
You know what?
You don't know where I camefrom.
You're right.
I don't know where you camefrom, guess what, I don't care.
Sorry, you don't know where Icame from.
(27:24):
You're right, I don't knowwhere you came from, guess what,
I don't care.
Sorry, but I don't care whereyou came from, I only care where
you're going to.
Don't dwell in the past.
Focus on the future.
Get back to work.
Number three on our top 10 wayspeople try to blame their
troubles on something or someoneelse.
You don't have the samechallenges I do, you're right.
Challenges I do, you're right,maybe I don't, but I have
(27:45):
challenges that you don't have.
I just haven't shown you whatthey are.
I've hidden them from you.
That's right.
I've hidden them from you.
Just like everyone else, I putup a public face that makes you
think everything is perfect.
But you know what?
I've challenges too, but Idon't let them hold me back
Guess what.
But I don't let them hold meback Guess what?
Many people have had far worsechallenges than you and I and
(28:06):
have done better, because theydidn't let that be an excuse.
Learn from them and get back towork.
And now number two on yourlistening dial, listen to this
one.
This is a biggie.
Number two is I just don't wantto.
I just don't want to Wow.
I just don't want to.
I just don't want to Wow, Ijust don't want to.
Guess what.
I can't help you.
(28:28):
That's right.
I can't help you.
You have to want it for yourself.
Keep that in mind with otherpeople too.
They have to want it forthemselves, or there's nothing
that I or anyone else can do foryou or them.
The fire has to come fromwithin.
I told you from the beginningthat some of my love would be
tough love, but sometimes thatkick in the butt is exactly what
(28:51):
we need to hear.
So here it is.
If your heels are dug in, thatyou just don't want to.
All right going to be toughwith you.
Here it is.
You know what.
Just go ahead and wallow inthat self-pity long enough.
That's it.
Go ahead when your need becomesstrong enough to overcome your
excuses.
When your need becomes strongenough to overcome your excuses,
(29:15):
look me up if you can find me,but for now, you guessed it.
Get back to work.
And finally, our chart topper,the number one spot on our list
of ways we try to blame troubleson something or someone else.
Well, it's too late now.
It's too late now, ball, ifyou're listening to this, it's
(29:37):
not too late.
The second you're donelistening to this, maybe even
before.
Take your first step on yournew journey and get back to work
.
I started acting in my 50s.
That's way too late.
Forget about it.
There's no way in the world.
And I got best supporting actorat the 2021 Christian Film
(29:57):
Festival.
I got on a survival realityshow as the oldest person on the
show, in my 50s, and won alongwith my partner.
It is never too late.
I'm doing this at age 58 yearsold Right now, recording this at
age 58.
I could be done, but you knowwhat I'm not done.
(30:19):
It's never too late.
If you think it is, it's timeto take that first step on your
new journey and get back to work.
So that's it.
That's my top 10 list of ways wetry to blame our troubles on
something or someone else, andwhat to do about it.
So have you heard any of thoseexcuses before?
Maybe even from your own lips.
(30:40):
Well, now you recognize themfor what they are.
They're excuses, and you knowthat excuses are merely lies.
We tell ourselves when we wantto believe it's not our fault,
but it really is Okay.
So exercise time.
I want you to do this.
Pull out a pen or paper ordigital device or whatever you
(31:01):
use, but pull out something andI want you to write this down.
Okay, here we go.
What things did you let get inthe way of you succeeding in the
past?
Let me say it again what thingsdid you let get in the way of
you succeeding in the past?
Take some time, write them down.
Good, turn this off if you needto, please.
(31:26):
Okay, now you've identified theproblem, onto the important part
, the solution.
What actions can you take toget around those problems?
Truly, take some time to writedown the solutions next to the
problems so you can see them, soyou can focus on them.
You can focus on the solutioninstead of the problem.
(31:46):
Take some time and do this.
It's very important that you doAgain.
You don't want to just listento this so you can go wow, this
was a cool recording.
You want to take actionsthat'll make a difference in
your life, so I want you to dothat.
It's very important.
All right, this has been thefirst step of getting over the
brainwashing.
Now we see excuses for whatthey truly are lies, we tell
(32:10):
ourselves, by understanding thatwe've taken away the power they
used to hold over us.
We no longer believe thatthey're true, that they can
actually hold us back fromachieving our goals, achieving
our hopes, achieving our dreams.
We have the power to find outways to achieve.
Despite the excuses, we canfind the workaround.
(32:32):
Our new mantra is there'salways a way.
It merely becomes our job tofind that way.
Let me say that again there'salways a way.
The solution exists, it's outthere.
So now that I know that itmerely becomes my job to find
that way, we'll no longer beexcuse-aholics.
(32:55):
We'll look past the obstaclesto our goal and, just like the
story of Admiral Farragut before, damn the torpedoes, full speed
ahead.
You got this Congratulations,you now have the power to blow
that bolt.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback
Chronicles.
Head on over to Apple Podcastsor wherever you listen, and
subscribe to the show.
If you're ready to get overyour fears, self-doubts and past
failures and break through yourcomfort zone to reach the
pinnacle of success in everyarea of your life, head over to
terrielfawesomecom to pick upyour free gifts and so much more
(33:39):
.
We'll see you next week on theComeback Chronicles podcast.
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