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Beating the Odds

Great Excuses

A few summers ago, my daughter and I were headed for an open-air concert.

We had tickets on the lawn, while much of the crowd — and the band — would be under shelter.

That meant that the show would go on, despite the wind, rain, thunder and lightning.

We could barely see as we drove. We stopped once. We listened on the radio for any hope that the storm would pass.

There’s just one thing we didn’t do. We never said one word about turning around and going home. We wanted to see the show, and gave no thought to not seeing it. And we saw it!

Funny thing about that storm. If we had been going to school, to work or on an annoying errand, it would have been a perfect excuse not to go.

It’s the same way with you. Lots of the reasons you give yourself for not doing something are just excuses.

In Juneau, Alaska, where it rains about 220 days per year, the people say they never postpone an event because of bad weather. If they did, they could never get anything done. They don’t use weather as an excuse.

Back to the concert for a moment. I can’t recall exactly, but I’m sure that those of us who made it to the show were congratulating each other on our perseverance. There’s just one thing wrong with that picture. Real achievement doesn’t come from doing the things you want to do. It comes from doing the things you need to do. No excuses.

How about you? When you decide not to do something, do you have a reason or an excuse?

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