I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild,
A million dead-end streets.
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet.
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test…
– David Bowie, from the song “Changes”
Yummm! Changes!
Don’t you love ’em?
Just think about all those changes you want to make in your life and in your business. You know the ones, right? The ones you keep talking about and telling me about… like, how you want to build your business and attract more clients and fans… or how you’re so to take action on that new project…. or how you’re sick and tired of having a website that looks great but doesn’t do a dang thing for your business.
But then, as soon as you’re offered the opportunity to DO something about your goals and dreams, what happens? More often than not, either one or both of the following two excuses pop out of your mouth:
I don’t have the money.
I don’t have the time.
I call these the “Default Excuses” because they constitute the creative entrepreneur’s default position when it comes to making positive changes in their business.
For instance…. let’s say you’ve been really feeling the desire to move your business to the next level, to attract more clients and create more passive income. Cool! Then, the Universe delivers to you a great 6-week teleclass on how to do just that. It’s even taught by someone you’ve heard of before, someone trustworthy.
Uh, oh, but there’s the price… and, well, it’s a little bit of a stretch for you.
Up pops the default excuse! “Aw, I just don’t have the money.” And then, maybe the second default excuse joins in, “And besides, six weeks is a long time and I just don’t have the time.”
But let’s get real here. What you’re really saying is, “I just want everything to stay the same.” Because the truth is, if you really wanted to, you could find both the time and the money. You may tell yourself you don’t have either, but that’s not really the issue.
The issue is that those excuses allow you to stay right where you are. Nothing has to change. And if you don’t have to change, then you don’t have to step outside your comfort zone, do you? Sure, you won’t create the changes you’ve been asking for, but your consolution prize is that you can stay stuck and cozy in your familiar comfort zone.
But here’s the irony! As long as you keep using the excuses of not enough time or not enough money, you are guaranteed to keep not having enough time or enough money, because you’ll never make the changes that would allow you to have more time and money!
Cool system, isn’t it? And it helps that a lot of people around you have bought into the same system as well.
Hey, and I’m not immune! Believe me! I’ve been right there with you, using those old default excuses right and left. But not any more, baby.
Eliminate those excuses from your vocabulary right now.
And instead, tell the truth. You simply don’t want to. You don’t really want to make those changes. You don’t really want to do anything that might ask a little more you and take you out of your comfort zone. I know this may sound harsh, but at least you know what you’re really up against. And it’s not a lack of time or money.