Mikael Rieck is the author of more than hundred articles on topics of how to make money both online and offline. He has been online since 1999 and has always had a passion for money making opportunities and teaching others how to make a profit.
To Become Rich You Must Stop Making Excuses
Like most people reading this blog you are probably looking for a way to make more money than you are currently making. Some of you might want to become very rich and some are just looking for an extra monthly income that will help pay the bills or make room for some fun like traveling or purchasing some extra goods without having to think about every penny you spend.
Whatever the reason and motivation that drives you there are some key factors that play a crucial role in whether or not you are going to improve your financial situation and these key factors, once you control them, will be the key that can help you improve anything in your life, so be sure to pay attention.
On the flip side, not paying attention and acting on these key elements will keep your locked in the situation that you’re currently in or in worst case even move you towards a worse situation financial, spiritual, emotional and socially.
Is This Where You Are At?
If we go a few years back in time (5-6 years I believe) the situation for me was that I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere with my life and I was moving there fast. There were a lot of things that I wanted to change but nothing really happened.
What I found was that every time there were something that I wanted to do or have I had some kind of excuse for why I couldn’t get it or have it. Some of the most common excuses were lack of money and lack of time.
An example could be that I wanted to travel to a luxury resort on the Fiji islands because I had seen a commercial and Fiji definitely looks like a paradise. The price was something like $4,000 per person for 14 days and since I would want to bring my wife that would be a total of $8,000.
At that time I couldn’t just take $8,000 out of the drawer and decide to spend it on such a trip. So instead of doing what I should have done I said to myself that “I can’t do that because I don’t have enough money”. And that is how you end a dream pretty quick! Find a excuse that makes sense to your brain and say it enough times to make it stick.
Have you ever made excuses like this to yourself when you wanted something?
The example above it just one of many that I have made and I am sure that you have been down that road as well. Maybe it is human nature or maybe it is because we are influenced by society, I don’t know.
What I do know is that children dare to dream big dreams and they don’t come up with excuses for why something can’t happen. If they want to become an astronaut they will dream it and act it until someone tells them that they can’t! Have you ever been guilty of telling someone that they couldn’t do something?
Stop Making Excuses
If you are in the habit of constantly coming up with excuses for why something can’t be done then you need to stop ASAP. Whether it is why you can’t be rich, why you can’t become a sports superstar or why you can’t lose that excess weight, it is only true because you convince yourself that it is.
If instead of coming up with excuses for why something CAN’T be done, then try to condition yourself to ask “How CAN this be done?” The effect of this subtle shift (we’re talking nothing but 1 small letter), is enormous. When you send that question to your brain it will instantly start coming up with answers to that question.
Our brain is an awesome tool that has the potential to do anything and by making it work FOR you instead of against you it will begin to give you the answers that you need to move ahead and achieve the things that you want.
If I had asked myself “How can I go to Fiji with my wife?” my mind would have instantly started working on coming up with possible solutions like:
- How can I save or generate $8K?
- Where can I found possible discounts?
- Can I find someone already living there that I could help in some way in exchange for being able to stay in their home?
These are just the few things that I could come up with while writing this and it took me less than 60 seconds. Do you think that you would be able to come up with some better questions and solutions if you gave it a little more effort? I’m sure you could. 
Conclusion
So that is really all there is to it. A simple little change in the questions you ask yourself will have immense impact on what you can achieve and make a reality for yourself.
The change is small but in no way insignificant. However for some of you it might not be as easy as it sounds. For me it has taken a lot of work and I am still working on only asking the right questions. Changing a lifelong habit is not something that you do over night but once you get into the positive habit of asking the right questions you are on your way to a better and more positive life and it can take you towards your dream of becoming rich or having at least a lot more financial freedom and opportunities than you are currently experiencing.
To Your Success,
Mikael
13 Responses so far
Chloe from Ben 10 Toys
July 2nd, 2009
11:08 am
Hi Mikael,
I thought I would visit your blog rather than taking up more space on Caroline’s!
It’s amazing how easy you make it sound, saying it’s just one letter to go from Can’t’ to Can and you’re right.
I like to think I don’t make excuses all the time! I gave up my day job and started a business about 8 years ago when a lot of people just talk about it. I then sold that and moved my family to another country 3 years ago so we could spend more time together, when again most people only dream about it.
I don’t want to regret having not done something. Sometimes you just have to go for it. What’s the worst that can happen!
Cheers, Chloe
Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys´s last blog ..An Expat Buying Toys In Europe
Mikael
July 3rd, 2009
6:29 am
Hi Chloe, it sounds like you are definitely not coming up with as many excuses as most.
If I didn’t make it clear I am not stating that it is possible to NEVER come up with excuses. I think even the most successful person will from time to time come up with some excuse for not going outside of his or her comfort zone.
The point is to avoid making it a habit of always making excuses but spend the most time asking the right questions and ACT.
Sire
July 3rd, 2009
8:49 am
I have never been guilty of telling my kids that things were beyond their reach. I’ve always told them that anything was possible if they only put their mind to it. This is pretty well what you are saying in your post.
As to those people that say it can’t be done, it just goes to show that they don’t want it bad enough. If they did they would jump hurdles to get it.
Sire´s last blog ..To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is The Question
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
July 6th, 2009
8:06 am
Hi Mikael,
Another excellent post, unique with your style and feel, I love it!
Just like Sire, I’m a 100% CAN DO guy, and can’t even consider things in a different way.
This reminds of a company exercise I instated in my company a while back, where each time someone was saying that they couldn’t do, and later to some extend that they were thinking that they couldn’t do something, I told them to speak out loud saying: “Of course I can!”
Nobody really took this very seriously at first, or saw that more as a joke than anything, but the effects where incredible, not only more work started to be done (including some of the initial “can’t do or can’t be done”, but also the global mood and spirit of the employees!
So I can attest personally that this works!
Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Does Google Understand Your Topic?
Mikael
July 6th, 2009
8:41 am
Thank you for sharing Nicolas. I can see why that must have worked quite well once people saw that it wasn’t a joke.
What made you come up with that solution? Did you come up with it yourself or did something/someone inspire you?
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
July 6th, 2009
8:48 am
Hi Mikael,
Honestly I forget where I found this idea, it wasn’t my idea, but just something I found and thought it would be interesting to implement in corporate training. It started because I was tired of hearing my Personal Assistant saying “I can’t” all the time.
Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Does Google Understand Your Topic?
Sire
July 10th, 2009
3:11 am
Just as an after thought, instead of just stating I can’t do it, I reckon it would be more productive to ask it as a question. Why can’t I do it, and then try an resolve the issue.
Sire´s last blog ..Getting Paid For Reviews That Have The No Follow Attribute
Mikael
July 10th, 2009
5:54 am
Hi Sire,
I believe that if it is to be done “right” you will have to phrase it in a positive way because the human brain can only distinguish between can’t and can and not the rest of the sentence.
So instead it should be “How can I do it”
Mikael
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
July 10th, 2009
5:59 am
This is where forcing my employees to say “Of course I can!” leave them no choice but to find out “How can I do it?” once they spoke that of course they could do it!
Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Don’t Put The Cart Before The Horse
The Gooroo from Finance Advisory Stop
July 11th, 2009
4:31 am
I won’t lie, I’ve been guilty of it. Thing is, there are certain things that really are far-fetched. For example, one of my friends told me that he would be a millionaire before he turns 18. He is now 17. I did not mean to put him down, but I just felt as if the idea was really far-fetched. Now that you mention this though, it really got me thinking. Anything is possible.
The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..What Keeps You Blogging?
No Excuses - where to start? | 7 Green Stairs
July 29th, 2009
2:13 pm
[...] To Become Rich You Must Stop Making Excuses [...]
Paris from Chris
November 5th, 2009
6:46 am
I’ve as guilty of the same behavior until I started to read the power of your subconcious. That book and the book I’m writing about on my blog now (How to be rich and happy) have completely changed the way I think about those situations.
Things that I have never thought were possible (like staying in Italy or the Bahamas for a few months) are now doable even though I have no clue how I’m going to do it. I just know that I can now… Great blog man…
Paris@Chris´s last blog ..Is exercise necessary to be rich and happy?
Mikael
November 5th, 2009
8:13 am
Thanks Paris (or is it Chris?),
The first step is to believe but as you say, believing is not enough. You’ll need to take action towards it as well. Unfortunately most people are so afraid to fail that they don’t take any action at all.
Mikael
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