The Achiever II seminar provided a lot of information on how to improve yourself and your business, but it’s now up to you to do something with this information. It’s great to be inspired, but if you don’t do anything with it, then the whole process was useless. From this point, you can either create excuses or results, but not both at once. Here are some tips to keep in mind when choosing results over excuses:

Stop saying you’re busy

Entrepreneurs always say they’re busy because they don’t want to look like they’re doing nothing. However, always saying you’re busy prevents you from having any real interactions or connections with people. Everybody says they’re busy, but what this really means is that you’re constantly allowing interruptions in your life and not focusing on what’s important.

We struggle as humans to do anything outside of our comfort zone. Some have procrastinated under the guise of being “busy” for so long that procrastination has become their comfort zone. Many of these people are perfectly capable of doing hard work, but that has moved outside of their comfort zone and their bodies have resisted taking any action.

Some people also claim perfectionism has kept them busy since it makes every task take longer to get right. Perfectionism is a useless term and a meaningless excuse; the concept is completely subjective since what is perfect for one person is flawed for another. Do not let perfectionism be an excuse to stay in your comfort zone.

Block off your calendar

Time management fails for many people because they don’t block off their calendar for the most essential tasks they need to do. People plan or say they are going to do things, but don’t prioritize them or put them off until later. If you have learned things from this event that you want to implement, do it tomorrow, don’t hesitate. The longer you wait, the further back it will go in your mind, and your routine will take over.

Many are also far too focused on their track record to try anything new. If something fails once, people don’t try again. Think about it this way: torpedoes go off track about 97% of the time. If torpedoes go off track that often, you really shouldn’t worry about trying something different that may take your business slightly off course.

Don’t accept things as they are

When writing my first book, my house flooded, then caught on fire shortly after. Before my last presentation, Achiever I, I lost my hearing 30 days before the date and also had to present with a broken foot. The point is, when you’re called to do great things a lot will inevitably get in your way. Technology will fail when you need it and problems will occur that you didn’t plan for, but make no excuses when these happen. Ask yourself, “What am I going to allow”, and “What am I going to accept”.

Bad things can happen every day, from getting stuck in traffic to losing your entire email list. What you do after that is what makes the difference. There are 2 choices in life: accept things as they are, or accept the responsibility to change them. If you are not happy with your business, then change it.

Make time for what needs to be done

Think about how well you treat your devices. You probably update your phone more than you improve yourself or your marketing. Many also treat their clients better than themselves, but you should start treating yourself like a client.

Block time out of your calendar for yourself. You may not have time to finish everything you want to be done, but you always have time to do what needs to be done. I use that time block to work on my mindset. It may seem like a waste of time for people who are “too busy”, but it grows my business and income more than anything else in my daily routine. Block out time for what is most essential for your success.

Remember to live

The greatest lie people tell themselves is, “I wish I could do that”. If you really wanted to you would have put in the work and had the discipline to follow through. The problem with the world is that everyone is drifting through it. Your weekly schedule is the same for weeks on end and you do nothing to interrupt the monotony of your life. Remember to live, and see where your passion can lead you.

Note: This article was created from the conference Achiever II, and is rewritten from the speech given by John Morgan.

After building and selling a successful real estate business, John Morgan became the founder of ACHIEVR: a company that provides coaching for entrepreneurs and leaders. He currently runs the ACHIEVR Tribe group coaching program and acts as a mentor to select entrepreneurs.