A major reason why people fail to live up to their potential is because they have a habit of making excuses for why they cannot get ahead. They do not try to better their situation and instead justify their lack of action and initiative by complaining and blaming everything but themselves. As a result they do not make the progress they are capable of making.

The most common excuses people come up with are:

1. Lack of money – those who really want to succeed find a way to get the money; they save, reduce expenses, take a loan, approach potential investors, sell some asset etc. and they do what they set out to do.
2. Lack of time – everybody has the same amount of time. The successful prioritise their time, cut back on unnecessary activities, stop wasting time and get down to accomplishing their tasks. If you complain about not having time, it just means you are not really interested in doing the task in hand.
3. New, unknown territory , hence lack of relevant experience – You may not have done this before but there is a first time for everything, so don’t use this as an excuse. Use your life experiences and take the first step, if you falter, try again and again till you get moving.
4. Lack of knowledge, education and skill – Again not an insurmountable problem. Read, search the internet, take classes, find a mentor/teacher and you will soon gather the skills and information that you need. You don’t need a string of degrees to your name to get started.
5. Wrong timing – there is no perfect time for anything. You have to get your feet wet and make the attempt. You may succeed, you may fail. But if you do nothing, you will definitely get nowhere. It is a waste of time and energy waiting for the “right time”.
6. Others are discouraging me – people invariably react negatively to an idea that is new or innovative or different. So what? You do not have to please everybody on the street. It does not matter if others don’t have faith in you. As long as you believe in yourself and trust your instincts and capabilities, go right ahead.
7. My idea is not totally new – chances are somebody else had an idea similar to yours. It does not mean you sit back and do nothing. You don’t have to come up with something absolutely new. You can improve on what is already available, give it a new dimension, change its qualities a bit and make it your own. As long as it is different, even a little bit, it will catch people’s eye.
8. Wrong age – there is no right age to start a business; you can do whenever you set your mind to it.
9. Ill-health – again a reason that does not hold back those who are dedicated and committed to reaching their goal. Physical infirmities can be overcome with medical help and strength of mind.

The only thing that can really hold you back is yourself. So throw all excuses out of the window and set about accomplishing whatever you want to.