Every client I meet recently doesn’t take action because of one thing… Kryptonite!
What does Superman have to do with excuses?
Kryptonite = Excuses
When exposed to Kryptonite for long periods of time, Superman will experience severe muscular weakness and excruciating pain, with both progressively intensifying and eventually leading to death.
Excuses are the same. The more you expose to yourself (or others) to why you are not doing something, it makes you believe you are not good enough, the ego kicks in, which drains confidence and motivation thus leading to stagnation.
During the first session with clients, all we will do is ask questions (a lot of questions) and listen.
The best way I can describe it is; listening to a message they have encoded in the words they use.
If you listen to someone with intent and actively, you can hear what they are actually telling you without them actually telling you.
Sounds strange, I know…
I find that every client we have worked with are waiting on something to be completely PERFECT before they move on to the next stage or step in the business, when in fact they could still do the thing(s) they want to do, without waiting for the original thing to be perfect…
Let me put this into context for you…
We have many clients who don’t want to commit to the next steps because they are waiting for their website to be ready, to change a logo or some content on a particular page or add a new email address to the list that they already have.
OR
Clients who are waiting on other people to come good on a deal or promise before taking action because they believe the person they are waiting for are pivotal to the next step in their business when in fact they are not.
OR
People ask us for specific type of training (usually to do with Social Media with a particular intent for it) as they believe that by learning about it and doing it, their business will change go in a different direction, get all the clients, the money or resources they want in the business when in fact they need something completely different AND more importantly carry on doing what is working for them.
Business can still go on, but they are waiting for that thing (whatever it is) to be perfect.
There are many stories we can share but these 3 are the most common we come across.
The problem is, is that they (including you) are not listening to themselves.
And guess what happens…
Their web designer takes months to get back to them to change the logo and when they do they have to pay over the odds to get that little thing done which then puts more pressure on the business because it’s been on hold waiting for this one thing.
The person they have been waiting for no longer has the confidence, funds or resources to carry out the promise that they made, leading to the trust in that person and the relationship to sour.
Or, they have the training they asked for and nothing has come from it because the very basics in their marketing hasn’t been addressed like brand, website or knowing why they set up in the first place. They are looking to a new “shiny” activity they are not currently doing and think it’s the answer.
Now I’m not saying that this happens all the time, what I am saying is that there are steps that can still be made while you are waiting for things to happen, and in case they don’t happen you need to have a contingency plan, so you are able to carry on regardless and not think your business is over because that person or marketing method didn’t come good.
Now neither of these things may have happened to you or all might have. What I’m saying is stop giving yourself an excuse to move forward.
What is an excuse?
An excuse is a reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offence. This involves blame…
So, what is the difference between a reason and an excuse?
A reason is an explanation of why something is the way that it is. This involves accountability…
A massive difference!
How to get rid of the excuse(s)?
The excuse can be disguised as fear of failure, denial, fear of success and your life changing (thoughts like; “what will other people think of me” come to mind) or it could be lack of confidence in one’s self.
What we need to do is dig deep and do 2 things;
- Ask yourself; What is actually holding me back from doing what I want to do?
- Acknowledge the thing(s) that you have noticed
Now you don’t have to do anything with it JUST yet… You may have just shocked yourself into a lightbulb moment or a realisation (that you’ve known for a long time but buried it) …
Either way you are now aware of it!
The final step is this;
- Find someone that can help you get over/move forward from the thing(s) that is holding you back…
There is a caveat…
I’m not saying that once you know what that “thing” is, and you have found the right person to help you, it will go away… It may not go away for a while or ever…
However, now that you know your weakness (or your Kryptonite) you are able to deal with it better, learn some techniques that will overcome it or manage it better.
The excuses will come and go and the more you keep telling yourself the same thing or something else the further away your dreams will go.
The action I would like you to take is…
Take responsibly for your actions, stop blaming others for theirs, grab the bull by the horns and shape your destiny.
The choice is yours!
What excuse are you telling yourself today to stop you moving to where you want to be?
It could be that you need to learn a new skill or outsource part of your work… or something else…
Take the time to understand WHY you keep telling yourself or others about these excuses so that you are able to get further faster.
When you know what your Kryptonite is, leave the comment below, “Kryptonite DESTROYED!”
