Excuses, the grave where potentials are buried

We often make excuses for not doing the right things. But what's worse is when you make excuses for not doing anything. Excuses are like the grave where potentials are buried. You cannot make a new you if you bury what you are. So please do not make excuses. Take action now. No one knows where tomorrow will take you. Don't waste your precious time lying to yourself that you don't have what it takes. No one is going to give you success. You have to be courageous to do it

Somebody once said, "Courage is power, and fear is cowardice". But fear of failure kills courage. You have to have some degree of fear to do things in life. Be courageous despite the fear, because doing nothing is cowardly.

"He who hesitates is lost". When you step forward with your dreams and you want to get somewhere, you can't afford to be uncertain. Nobody wants uncertainty. Be decisive and go. This is a bold statement and a high road. But many people are always paralyzed by what they think. Be decisive and step forward. Nothing good comes easy. Go through the pain to get to the promised land. That's why people have written books about it.

"If you dream it, you can do it". God can't do it for you. You only need faith and self-belief. That is where most people fall. They wait for somebody to do it for them. No! If you dream it, you can do it. Many people don't dream it. They believe if God created them, he created someone to do it for them. Faith is the beginning of success. You must believe in yourself. If you don't, you will always have excuses. So build your faith.

I remember before I ventured into the sales business, I never knew I have the talent in business until I started selling. I was reading and I told myself that I must find out how I can be a salesman. I spent some time reading books and talking to different salesmen to find out their secrets. That is where my talent started.

My version of a proverb

Fate never rests. You must take what you see and use it to your advantage. I am a graduate in Urban and Regional Planning, when I was in school I thought I wanted to be a Chartered Planner. So when I was about to graduate I began to look for jobs as a chartered planner. On the other hand, some people believed if they are not lawyers they cannot be successful. So, I chose to go into the sales business. At first, I was not sure it will work, there was that fear that I will fail. First, I don't have enough capital for the business, secondary, I don't know anything about the business. But after I spent some time thinking about the business, I knew this is what I wanted to do.

You might not believe this, I started a business people do with at least 500k capital with a partly sum of $25. I knew it would not be easy but I have made up my mind. My business grows to reach $3,500 within the first year. The business grew because of my conviction. The reason why I am where I am today is that I believe. Once you believe in yourself and the process, the rest is history.

I am grateful for that university degree because it not only taught me a lot of things about the world, it has built me as a person. As I have written a few days ago, life after school is a different ball game. Having a certificate does not guarantee anyone a position in the world. We need to think out of the box and see life beyond certificates or degrees. I'm not complaining but let me share my experience with someone.

Believe in yourself. You have to have belief in yourself. It's so easy to give up on a dream. It's so easy to say, "I will never achieve it". But if you don't believe you can do it, you won't achieve it. If you don't believe, you are giving up on your life. I started with a little capital. I had $25. And I worked for about 10 months to come up with $3,000. So there is nothing impossible with the right attitude and belief. So, stop telling yourself, I will never achieve it. What is impossible for man is possible for God. Keep believing.

Keep working hard, don't expect miracles to happen overnight. Don't tell yourself, the first week I will get $10,000. The first week is God's time. Don't be impatient. It takes time. People say 10 days you'll have your money. It's not true. It takes months to see the result. Don't be impatient. Work hard and remain focused.

Do not compare yourself to others. I know this sounds cliché. But the secret is to believe. If you think you're not successful, no amount of effort is going to change your belief. You can't buy your way to success. The moment you start comparing your results to what you see on social media, you are limiting yourself. Don't compare yourself to others. Don't compare yourself to people who are now rich. The problem you have in life is not the amount of money. The problem is how you spend your money. The problem is not the size of your house. The problem is if you are being yourself.

Keep learning. If you are a person who wants to be successful, learning is important. Learn something new every day. People say you don't know what will happen tomorrow. You don't know that you'll lose your job. So, I like learning new things and keep reading. The man who doesn't know history is doomed to repeat it. It doesn't matter what kind of education you have, but you must know something new every day. Don't take education for granted. In my opinion, education is like a weapon. Without education, you're like a doorman. If you don't know anything, there is no way you can make a living. So, you must always learn something new every day. If you find yourself in the same situation and things do not change for the better, what do you do? You do whatever is necessary to change it. You need to be well-read and understand what's happening in the world. You must be part of the conversation. You must be a part of the change.

Learn from failures. In everything, there are two phases. In the first phase, you fail. You don't succeed. Now is the second phase, when you learn from your failure. This is when you begin to learn from your mistakes. In life, failure is part of success. If you are not in the first phase of success, you cannot be successful in life. You must be in the second phase when you learn from your mistakes. Success is the consequence of failure.

Have integrity. When you start in life, have integrity. What you are going to learn is that integrity is the most important thing in life. So, what are the things you must have integrity in? It's not only about what you want to do, but it's about the values you hold. You must live a life worth living.

When you start working, when you start talking to people, when you start getting involved in the things you do, you must hold the values that are necessary to the way you want to live. You must choose a path that will give you the outcome you want. And you must act in a way that will allow you to achieve your aim. Integrity is about your daily life.

Take advantage of opportunities. Opportunity is the father of failure. When you are coming from the bottom, people will look at you and say, how can you compete with someone like him? No matter how good you are, some people will always think you are not as good as him. But when you have an opportunity, you must seize it. You must always take advantage of opportunities.

Don't forget God. To have a long life, and because I'm a person of faith, I believe God is a provider. And because God is a provider, I have confidence God will always provide. You don't need to worry about your family. You must put your trust in God.

Bottom line

My message to young people is that, if you want to be successful, you have to work very hard. And that is the bottom line. And in this day and age, everything is competitive. There are a lot of people who want to work. The competition is tough and it's getting tough. Most people don't have money; they are still looking for jobs. This is the competition. So, if you want to succeed, you have to work very hard.

Success is how you think of it. People have it all planned. But most people don't have a good life plan. So, if you want to succeed, you must think positively. The way you think is how you succeed.