The No Excuses book by Brian Tracy tells about 21 principles that, if you live by, will guarantee success in your life.
Do you want to be a success?
Do you want to know what it takes?
It all takes self-discipline and taking full responsibility for your life. It means no more excuses and just doing what it takes to get where you want.
We have to let go of the SOMEDAY mentality.
Most of us have excuses like I’ll be fit someday, I’ll be rich someday, I’ll be happy someday.
SOMEDAY, most of the time becomes NODAY.
We let excuses rob us of our goals.
Someday you think you’ll no longer have excuses.
Brian Tracy’s success
Although he didn’t finish high school, he didn’t let that decide his fate in life.
He studied books and the lives of other successful people and followed them.
He eventually became a success and created multiple businesses that consist of vehicle sales, training, speaking, writing, and consulting services.
He attributed this success to discipline and determination to do everything necessary.
“Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do when you should do it, even if you feel like it or not.” – Elbert Hubbard, American history writer.
Elbert said that there are thousands of success principles, but without self-discipline, they are nothing.
Here are the 21 principles to live by and apply self-discipline.
1. How do you define success?
How would you define success if you have no excuses?
Define in your own words what does success mean to you? Success is not all about money.
Think of success in all areas of your life. What would it look like to you?
Describe your ideal life.
What would it be like if everything in your life was perfect in business, family, health, and finances?
Think of these questions:
- What would you be doing for work?
- How much money would you like to see in your bank account?
- How would you spend time with your family and friends?
- How is your health? What do you do to maintain good health?
Doing your own thing
When you finally realize what success means, what must you do to accomplish them?
What habits, excuses, behaviors, and activities must you let go of to achieve your goals?
You must exert self-discipline to do this, as you will surely meet a lot of internal resistance.
Be in the top 20%
The best way to get to the top is to be in the top 20% of your field. The top 20% of success does whatever it takes to get there.
Hard work is the way to get there.
You have to have the self-discipline to get yourself to do the hard work and not take shortcuts.
Sustainable success is only possible if you work hard for a long time.
You can predict your success.
Success or failure is not an accident. You become a success by following what successful do.
Work deliberately, with intention, and regularly practice the things you need to do and be to become a success.
The price of success
According to H.L. Hunt, there are only three things you need to do to become a success.
- Know what you want in life.
- Determine the price you need to pay to get what you want
- Make sure to pay that price.
Learn from the experts.
Learning from experts in your desired field is one way to accelerate your success. They already made the failures and overcame them.
Learn from the experts. They can help you live with no excuses.
Learning from their mistakes will help them avoid the same mistake and make better decisions.
You can become an expert by continually upgrading yourself by reading books, attending seminars, listening to audiobooks, asking for feedback, and learning new technologies.
2. Character Development
True character shows when you choose to uphold your values under pressure.
Your self-esteem increases whenever you choose integrity despite a difficult situation where taking the shortcut is easier.
As you develop good character, people will see the good in you and help you out.
You’ll get raises, promotions, and more responsibilities with opportunities for growth.
The reverse can happen if you are a person known to be of dubious character.
People won’t trust you, and you’ll find it hard to find people who will hire you or even lend money to you.
How do you develop character?
- Start at a young age. Teach your children the importance of character and uphold it above fame or money.
- Study people you admire and imitate their values.
- Put into practice the values you want to have.
Behave Consistently
Keeping a covenant to yourself that you will only do the right thing no matter what is vital, as this shows your true character regardless of circumstances.
You feel happy and free whenever you do something good.
You feel guilt, misery, and regret when doing the opposite of what you value.
3. Taking Responsibility
Accepting responsibility is required if you want to have total self-discipline. This will help you stop making excuses and take action.
Stop blaming your parents for their mistakes.
People often blame childhood issues for their current problems.
The past can be trying to get over it, but it’s your responsibility to make a different choice and do something about it.
4. Set Goals
You can increase your self-discipline by setting a goal to be self-disciplined.
Set a goal for things you want to accomplish.
For example, you want a certain amount of money in the bank. Set the money goal and come up with a plan to achieve it.
You then practice self-discipline to save a certain amount of money every month until you achieve your savings goal.
5. Be Excellent At What You Do
The best investment you can make is to invest in yourself.
Improve yourself by reading and listening to books, learning from people who have more experience, attend training and seminars.
Life is a never-ending learning journey if you want to succeed.
Associate yourself with people who you want to be.
6. Overcome Your Fears
Excuses are just hidden fears you don’t want to face.
If you get honest with your excuses, you will know deep inside that you are afraid of something.
It could be fear of:
- failure
- success
- death
- loss
- ridicule, shame, embarrassment, or criticism
Whatever those fears are, you can do something to overcome them. Feel the fear and take action anyway.
The fear won’t go away, but you are doing something in the right direction.