Excuses or Results?

"You either have excuses or you have results. Which one do you have today?"

This was a tweet recently posted by a former Platinum client of mine, Liz Dennery Marks, owner of SheBrand.com and Dennery Marks Inc., a very successful brick-and-mortar branding and celebrity outreach firm in Beverly Hills.

And it really struck a chord with me. Why? Because I've been having that conversation more often than ever lately, with both clients and colleagues.

So let's see if I can help you figure out which is true for you:

Think of *one thing* in your business right now that is frustrating you.

Once you have that 'one thing' in mind, what was the next thought that popped into your head?

Was it...

- I'm waiting for so-and-so to get back to me first.
- I don't have the time, money, resources.
- I don't know what to do next.
- I'm not sure this is right for me.
- I'm feeling lost, confused, unsupported.

All of these thoughts and feelings are absolutely valid. And they are all excuses. Choose a different word than 'excuses', if you'd like, but if you're not moving forward and getting results, then I'm going to suggest that the issue isn't truly any of the above.

By the way, I worded it that way - 'what's one thing' - on purpose, because how we do anything is how we do everything.

And that's my intention here - to shine the light on the fact that as long as you focus externally as the 'reason' something isn't working for you, you'll continue to be frustrated and stuck.

Here's an example from my own client files:

I had a client who was frustrated by what she considered to be my lack of support of her and her business. When she shared this frustration with me, I didn't get defensive or take on her frustration. What I did do was ask her a series of simple questions that drilled down to the real issue.

In this case, it was that she wasn't taking any action, including asking her coach (me) for the support she needed. Once she realized that she had everything she needed to move forward, including the very help she was paying for, everything shifted for her. She began asking for direction and implementing the information she already had, and her business started flowing immediately.

But more than that, she realized that she was doing the same thing in her personal life with her husband. She was frustrated by his lack of support, and yet as soon as she asked for it, he immediately sought out ways to help her.

So let me repeat:

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Think about that.

I'd love to know how this resonates with you. Please leave your thoughts below - and thanks!

(c) 2010 Alicia Forest

About the author:  Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com

Comments

[Nikki Curry]

HI Alicia

I love this post. The reason I love it, because you are describing me a few short years ago. I have always been one to make things happen, then I became STUCK. But thank God I escaped that traped. The bottom line is you can't make MONEY and EXCUSES too! We have to learn how to decisions and just roll with them.

We only run out of options when we stop looking for them! I have learned this in business and my personal life.

Alicia, Thanks for being on the mark as usual

Nikki Curry- Image & Brand Coach

[william thomas]

i,ve had this website for about a year and i haven,t sold anything.i.m signed up with twitter no results,also facebook no results i don,t have the money to pay for advertiseing and i have been geting your e-mails for about a year. i was afraid to get involved because of money.i know it takes capital to operate but someone said you can start out with free advertiseing.i don,t know what to do. help please.

[Sylvia]

Great question that I needed to hear. I have my vision but am stuck on completing the free taste "Discover What's Holding You Back in Losing Weight". Now I just know I'm not taking the time to sit down and do it and it's an excuse. And I will get nowhere until the products are there to sell! Thanks!