10 excuses only 1 reason

Here are 10 excuses people give for not starting their own business:

• I am too busy
• I can not afford it
• My spouse will not let me
• I am not interested
• I tried something else and failed
• I do not want to contact people
• This is too complicated
• I will miss my TV Shows
• This must be a pyramid
• Multilevel Marketing does not work

There is only one reason they give those 10 excuses: fear.

Just about everyone I contact is the result of a lead. The person requesting the information clicked on a link on the internet, read a bunch of information about our business and actually entered their contact information requesting more information about getting involved in a business. The only thing keeping them back was a four letter word FEAR.

There are a number of things that create the fear response and they all happen subconsciously. Clearly these people want to get started in a business and they want to do better, why else would they click on the link and request information?

Fear is the result of something that pushes us out of our comfort zone. Before the contact they read some information that got them excited and they were looking to get started. Then the dreaded phone call from a stranger, the first hit to the fear factory. Next some more exciting information and thoughts that you may actually have to get started in something new and different, strike two on the fear engine. Strike three comes somewhere around the second or third day, if the person even got far enough to ask you to get started. You can hear the umpire scream “strike three” and all the negative thoughts start racing around your head telling yourself why this is not a good idea and out comes the excuse. Then for about 1 second after the call you are relived.

What happens next for most people is the reverse or the fear of not starting. You were clearly interested that is why you clicked on the link. You probably needed a change and were looking for something better and you let it pass you by. Next are thoughts of remorse for being a coward and not jumping at the chance to better yourself and better your family.

Fortunately it is never too late to take the next step. There are hundreds of opportunities to better your life. As with anything some are better then others. If you speak to almost anyone that has been successful you will find a history of past failure. The important thing is to learn from the past and keep stepping up to the plate. Failure teaches us two things, the first is what not to do and the second is what we need to do better next time. It took over 2000 experiments before Thomas Edison found the correct carbon thread to make the light bulb work. When asked about his efforts he replied:

"The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments. I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates." - Thomas Alva Edison

His message was clear, it did not matter what anyone else had done, that others had failed, or how long it took. He was resolved to find the solution to the problem and thankfully he was successful.