Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 071 – How to smash excuses like a PRO
Got all the excuses or ‘reasons’ in the world for not doing that thing yet?
Because somehow it sounds better when you have a solid reason rather than saying you’re making an excuse!
Lets be honest, and call it what it is – PROCRASTINATION.
In this coaching episode I take you through 7 mindset questions to smash those excuses and get you taking action like the pro you really are.
KEY MENTIONS
Tim Urban Ted Talk “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator”
Book – “We Should All Be Millionaires” by Rachael Rodgers
Contact Deirdre via email, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
Phew! Here we are in the last week of August 2023 already, can you believe it?? I feel like I started this podcast just the other day, but the first episode actually went out EIGHT MONTHS AGO!
And now here we are at episode 71. If you’ve listened to all 70 episodes so far, I’m sending the BIGGEST GRATITUDE BOMB your way! You’re the reason I keep doing this every week.
And if you’re just tuning in for the first time, either because you randomly discovered it or someone suggested it, a huge welcome and hello to you too.
If you like what you hear make sure you give it a follow so you get notifications when each new episode goes live. You don’t want to miss the good stuff!
I mean, that way theres no excuse for not making time to maybe learn something new for your business or money!
And thats what we’re talking about today.
We’re going to flip the script on whatever excuses you’ve got about why you have or haven’t done something yet.
Also known as ‘reasons’ in air quotes, because somehow it sounds better when you have a solid reason rather than saying you’re making an excuse!
Lets be honest, and call it what it is. PROCRASTINATION.
I full admit to being a Master Procrastinator at times.
If you want a good laugh and some insights into how procrastination shows up, check out Tim Urban’s awesome Ted Talk titled “Inside the mind of a Master Procrastinator”. I’ll link that one in the show notes, totally worth a watch.
When we’re procrastinating we’re making excuses to ourselves, to others, to The Universe, as to why we can’t do this thing we said we were going to do, or why we can’t achieve what we want.
If we said what we REALLY mean it would be more like “I’m not actually committed to having this thing I say I want in my life, I’m just saying the words because they sound cool so I fit in with everyone else.”
Does that sound about right??
Let’s talk about how you can stop discounting your value, your contribution to the lives of others, and actually OWN your value with the money you earn.
Its not just about business or money either, its important to own your worth in your relationships, in every aspect of your life, as an equal partner or contributor.
When you ditch the excuses, reasons, non-committal statements, all of that, you magically create some pretty life-changing boundaries that boost your cash flow AND your self respect. Which is nice!
I’ve got a little exercise that I’m going to walk you through so you can say NO MORE EXCUSES! We are DONE!
If you can, grab a pen and paper so you can work through this as we go right now.
If you’re on the go, out driving, walking, shopping, doing housework, don’t worry.
All the info is in the transcript and show notes, which you’ll find in the description of this episode.
This exercise has 7 thought provoking questions. Yes, we’re gonna get a little pointy here.
Before we get into those, a really good question you might have is “How do I know when something is a valid reason versus an excuse?”
The biggest clue is in the words you use. We’re talking things like…
Yeah but…
I can’t because…
If I do, then…
I could if…
“I don’t know what else to do.”
All of these have one common theme – they transfer responsibility and empowerment away from YOU, and onto another person, place, thing, whatever it is that follows those kind of statements.
Here’s some quick examples I jotted down…
“Yeah, but I have so many family commitments I couldn’t possibly spend more time on my business.”
“I could take on more clients if I had a VA to handle some things and free up my time.”
“I don’t know what else to do, I’ve tried everything and nothing works for me.”
Now, if you take nothing else away from this episode, make it that.
Take note of the words you use, and see if you’re putting responsibility on anything or anyone other than yourself. This doesn’t make you a bad person in any way, shape or form! Its simply an observation.
But that excuse is probably stopping you from getting something that you say is important to you.
I feel like such a school teacher right now, lecturing the kids! That’s not my intention. But we do occasionally need a bit of real talk, a dose of reality, all of that.
Heres my first big question for you:
1 – What’s the specific situation where you’re making an excuse regarding money?
It could be in your relationships, your career or business, or with money itself.
And I mean SPECIFIC, so if its about your business, what exactly is the excuse you’re making for yourself there?
Do you have all the reasons in the world about not having enough time to reach out to people or follow up with clients for re-orders? Whatever it is, be specific.
I can guarantee you’re not the only person in the world who has your excuse! You’ll get no judgement here from me, no matter what it is. Its valid for you right now.
2 – What if that excuse or reason were to disappear and you couldn’t use it anymore?
BOOM! Mic drop moment right there! Consider that bomb dropped, excuse blown up, GONE!
Now what are you going to do?
This is your moment to open yourself up to new opportunities, new possibilities, to achieve that thing you say you want.
If you need to hit pause and think it over, go right ahead. What if that excuse or reason were to disappear and you couldn’t use it anymore? Now what??
3 – What needs to be let go of?
Theres ALWAYS something you can let go of. I’m a BIG fan of decluttering!
Whether its worrying about what people will think of you, self doubt, fear of success – thats a big one, because OMG what the hell would you do if you actually achieved your goal?? Yikes! Scary stuff!
4 – What are you valuing about yourself by letting go of this excuse?
That’s a deep one, but super important. As women, we all too often undervalue ourselves.
Its been trained into us that we’re not as worthy, we’re not as respected, we’re not as important, depending on the situation. And I do mean trained, over generations and centuries of conditioning as the weaker gender.
Well, not anymore! And most definitely not around me.
I can get REAL fired up about the suppression of women and minorities, but honestly no one does it better than Rachael Rodgers in her book “We Should All Be Millionaires”.
I’ll link to it in the show notes, definitely worth your time and attention.
5 – What is a new decision you can make that supports you to achieve your goals?
Have a think about your BIG goals, because whatever this specific excuse you’ve been holding onto?
That’s just one tiny aspect thats blocking ALL of that from happening.
I was speaking with someone recently about why she hasn’t launched her new program that can create thousands of dollars of income for her.
It came down to a technology thing. She didn’t know how to work around it. And all it needed was a small investment in the right tech guru to make it happen in a flash. So simple!
You can make a decision NOW that blows away your excuse and gets you moving forward.
6 – What is an ACTION you can take that supports your new decision?
I want you to be really specific about this action, don’t be fluffy! A general answer to start with is fine, but you need to be specific and break it down so you’ll actually do it.
You may end up with a series of small action steps, which is great. As long as its an action that you know you’ll take, because you know its easy.
I want a virtual pinkie promise that you’ll do that thing in the next 24 hours, ok??
And the last question:
7 – How will taking action impact your relationships, your career or business, or money itself?
This is about taking a big picture 30,000 foot view, not just that tiny focused perspective that the excuse has held you in.
I include all 3 categories – relationships, career / business, and money – because the actions you take have a ripple effect across all areas of your life.
And your business. And your money. EVERYTHING!
Say you’re making excuses in your business because you’re also working full time and juggling family commitments. That was one of mine back in the day!
Its really hard to achieve enough momentum to create the income you want in your business that enables you to leave your career and support your family. We know that.
Its a vicious cycle and something has to give – preferably with a solution that supports your business, career, family, everything.
Maybe you need someone to help on the home front. You may need to ask if you can work part time, or remotely. There are options.
Can you see theres a different kind of energy around the original situation you chose now? “I can’t do this thing because of all these things?”
Here’s a quick summary of those 7 questions:
1 – What’s the specific situation where you’re making an excuse regarding money?
2 – What if that excuse or reason were to disappear and you couldn’t use it anymore?
3 – What needs to be let go of?
4 – What are you valuing about yourself by letting go of this excuse?
5 – What’s a new decision you can make that supports you to achieve your goals?
6 – What’s an ACTION you can take that supports your new decision?
7 – How will taking action impact your relationships, your career or business, or money itself?
You can apply these 7 questions to ANY situation where you recognise you’re making excuses and holding yourself back.
Those sabotaging behaviours have no place in creating the success you want in life. Especially when it comes to earning the money you want and need.
You’ll open yourself up to so many more opportunities and possibilities when you stop holding onto those excuses and saying “Yeah, but…”
Then break it down to the tiny actions that feel easy. Because then?? You can just go for it!
Theres one final thing I want to share with you which brings us back to having strong boundaries.
Anytime we make a change like this, where we decide to stop making excuses and take new actions, it has a butterfly effect in all areas of your life.
If you’re someone who is easily influenced by the opinions of others, the people around you might be so used to you behaving in a certain way that they might not like it when you make changes.
If thats something you experience as a result of all of this, a bit of backlash, just know its ultimately a good thing.
Please don’t give up at the first sign of resistance. If you do something consistently for long enough, eventually people realise this IS the new, empowered, kick ass you.
Remember, this is YOUR dream that you’re bringing to life, not theirs.
If you’d like my help taking action without excuses and building a solid foundation for your business in the simplest, easiest way, lets have a quick chat about IGNITE, my business and money coaching program.
I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook and Instagram – send me a DM!
Connect with me on LinkedIn – I’m the only Deirdre Amies in the world. Send me a DM there!
Or email hello@deirdreamies.com – you’ll find the links to all of those in the description and in the show notes.
That’s what I’ve got for you today! Hopefully we’ve blown up at least one excuse you’ve been holding onto, go through this again and blow up some more!
Take care, have fun blowing up your excuses, and I’ll catch you in the next episode!
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
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