No one likes to hear them. And yet, everyone has been guilty of making them.

What I’m talking about are excuses. Those pesky stories we tell ourselves or others to avoid responsibility without actually addressing the problem. They’re tempting because they protect our ego, our comfort, and sometimes even our confidence. Some excuses sound reasonable on the surface, but their real outcome is almost always harmful.

In my early 20’s, I walked into a pipeline review. For those unfamiliar, these are sessions with sales managers to review deals, progress, and receive coaching. This particular meeting didn’t have many bright spots. Deals were getting pushed. Quotas weren’t being met. And instead of owning it, I did what a young and immature salesperson often does. I showed up with a rap sheet of excuses.

Eventually, my sales manager had enough.

He looked me in the eyes and said something I’ll never forget.
“You are full of excuses. I don’t have time for them, because excuses are easy and they are tools of the incompetent. I’m open to hearing real reasons, but I refuse to listen to excuses.”

Then he stood up and walked out without another word.

That was my wake-up call. No one cares about excuses. They care about results.

Now, this isn’t to say there aren’t real reasons things go wrong. A reason describes reality, acknowledges constraints, and still leaves room for adjustment or learning. An excuse explains failure, avoids ownership, and prevents positive change.

A reason sounds like, “This didn’t work because of X. So now I’m going to do Y.”
An excuse sounds like, “This didn’t work because of X. So it’s not going to work.”

Reasons invite responsibility. Excuses avoid it.

So just for today, here’s a simple challenge. Can you eliminate the excuses?

Because if you can stack days of eliminating the easy excuses, your results are guaranteed to change.

P.S. The Optimistic Outlook is a Podcast! Leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts would mean a lot.