Chapter 55: Stop making excuses.
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story
you
keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.”
Jordan Belfort
What happens when you start stepping out of your comfort zone? Due to fears
and doubts, your mind comes up with the greatest excuses: it's not the right
moment, I'm too young , I'm too old, it's impossible, I can't, and my favorite one,
I have no money. Guess what people with money say: I have no time. "Yes, but
my case is different", you might say. No, it's not! Believe me. The right moment
never comes, so you might as well start here and now or wait forever. A crisis is
always an opportunity. You're neither too young nor too old. Do a search on the
Internet. It's full of stories of people who fulfill their dreams at an older age or
start an enterprise at a young age. No money? Or just spending it in the wrong
places by buying a new TV or video game console instead of investing it in your
training? The funny thing is people who work with a serious financial advisor or
financial coach suddenly find money! In the same way as all of my clients who
thought they didn't have time found time. "Yes, but my case is different!" Well,
you can keep telling that to yourself for some more time or you get rid of the
excuses once and for all and start taking action, because one thing is for sure: If
you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting what you are getting!
So what is it going to be?
Questions:
What are you going to choose from now on? Excuses or focused action?
What are the excuses you are using to not change and stay in the same place?
Chapter 56: Keep expectations low and then shine
“Always deliver more than expected.”
Larry Page This is another biggie and probably the best time management trick I
ever learnt. It changed my professional and private life in an extraordinary
manner and reduced stress at work to virtually zero! Most of my stress at work
came from deadlines and I or we as an enterprise were always struggling, which
made days when our products were shipped to the clients - which was every day
in high season - horrible and very stressful. We were always just in time or
sometimes maybe a couple of hours late and I had to calm down angry and
sometimes hysterical clients…until I started to under-promise: I figured out that
over 90% of our late deliveries were just a question of a couple of hours, so I got
the permission of my boss and started my own delivery schedule that only I
received access to. If production gave me a delivery date of April 5
th
, I told the
client April 10
th
. So if we delivered on April 7
th
, instead of an angry client
threatening to fine or sue us, I suddenly had extremely grateful clients that
thanked me for delivering three days early. Within a short time we reduced late
deliveries from nearly 50% to virtually 0% over the next three years. As it
worked out so well I started applying it to my whole life. When my boss gave
me a project that took me 3 days, I told her I was going to need 5 days. If I had it
completed after four days I looked great and if I took a little longer I was still on
time – and without weekends at the office. If I knew I had to stay at work longer
I told my wife I’ll be home at 9 p.m. Coming home at 8:30 p.m. I looked like a
hero. Careful here! This worked for me. My colleagues who knew the trick
always warned me that one day I could encounter an unpleasant surprise in the
cupboard…Well these are things we see in movies…
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