“It’s easier to go from failure to success than from excuses to success.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2015-10-06) from his book, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters (p. 8). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Excuses, we use excuses to keep us from making a difference, don’t we?

I spend time everyday walking. I am about to turn 69 and I have determined to do all I can to not be an invalid and so walking is making a difference in that not happening. Now as I get older I’m sure that I won’t be able to do what I can to not make that happen but right now the excuse that I am getting close to 70 and the excuse that my legs don’t feel like walking today are not going to be used. I’m not going to give in to them. Of course their will be a reason someday of why I won’t be able to walk but for now they are just excuses. So it’s 10,000+ steps a day to keep my heart pumping and my legs moving. There is still a significant part for me to play even at 69.

John says, “No one stumbles upon significance. We have to be intentional about making our lives matter. That calls for action— and not excuses. Most people don’t know this, but it’s easier to go from failure to success than from excuses to success.”

John goes on to say, “Look at the lives of people who have achieved significance, and you can hear them calling you to put yourself into your story. Perhaps they didn’t use those exact words, but if you look at what they’ve said, you can sense the call to action: ‘To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.’ —SØREN KIERKEGAARD ‘If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?’ —T. S. ELIOT ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ —MAHATMA GANDHI ‘Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.… Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.’ —STEVE JOBS”

God created each one of us with a purpose. He created us to make a significant difference in our worlds.

So are you making excuses or are you ready to take action?

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