The School of Greatness - 182 No More Excuses

Episode Date: May 29, 2015

"What if the only things that stand between you and your dreams are the excuses that you have accepted as truth?" - Lewis Howes If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at lewishowes.com/182.

The School of Greatness, episode number 182. No more excuses. Is there something you dream of doing but have dozens of excuses why you can't do it? Are you too short, too tall, too fat, too broke, too dark, too light, too tired, too old, too young, too whatever. Maybe you've always wanted your college degree, but you have decided you can't go back to school because you are saving up for your children to go. You think there won't be enough to go around. Maybe you have a health problem like a bad back or depression, and your chronic pain keeps you in bed for hours with zero motivation. Or maybe your debt is so high that you stay at your job you dislike in a city you dislike with a spouse you should have left years ago if only you could have seen a way out. As the pages of the calendar flip from days to months to years, is it your excuses that rule your life?

Or is it your determination and the call of your dreams? Would you rather be guided by your dreams or held back by your excuses? My friend Kyle Maynard was born with a condition known as congenital amputation, which means he was born without arms and legs. He was born with so many reasons to make excuses, yet Kyle has accomplished so much more than the rest of us who were born with all of our limbs intact with basically two elbows. He can type up to 50 words a minute on a normal keyboard,

eat and write without any adaptations, drive a vehicle that has little modifications, and live on his own in a three-story townhouse in Atlanta, Georgia. Now, Kyle has become a championship wrestler, the world's first quad amputee MMA fighter, a New York Times bestselling author, a certified instructor in CrossFit, and so much more. And in his most recent conquest, Kyle became the first man to ever hike on all fours to reach the roof of Africa, bear crawling to the 19,340-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The purpose of his quest was to send a message to the veteran community and kids with disabilities around the world

that no obstacle is too great to be overcome. And HBO Sports correspondent Bernie Goldberg summed it up best when he said, Cal's taken away the right to complain from the rest of us. Cal Maynard's no excuse message is teaching people around the world that there are no worthy excuses. There is nothing empowering about being a victim of your circumstances. We can't control what happens to us or how we were born, but what we can control is how we respond to life's varied opportunities. Trust me, plenty of people will conspire to support you in your unworthy excuses.

Many will actually hold you back with their own excuses and perceptions. No matter how challenging your difficulties may seem, everyone has the ability to overcome them. So if you are stuck in your excuses and have let go of your dreams, feeling powerless and hopeless, how do you move into a place of empowerment and hope? What if you stopped worrying about how you will get there and set the intention to figure out no matter what? What if you stopped worrying about how you will get there and set the intention to figure out no matter what? What if you challenged those excuses that come to you like Kyle does and surprised even yourself by overcoming your most ingrained physical and mental limitations? Maya Angelou said nothing will work unless you do. What if the only things that stand between you and your dreams are the excuses that you

have accepted as truth? It's time to let go of the excuses holding you back. So ask yourself, are your excuses more important than your dreams? Thanks so much for listening to this 5- Friday episode number 182. If you enjoyed this message, make sure to head back to the show notes at 182. We'll have linked up a full interview I did with Kyle Maynard, which really transformed my life after connecting with Kyle and learning about his story and all the things that he's done. It's, it's truly inspirational and inspiring to see how someone born the way Kyle was born has such a positive heart and takes on life and all of its

obstacles with grace. So again, please go back to episode one, eight, two it's Lewis house.com slash one, eight, two. Again,

thank you guys so much for being here. Make sure to check out the show notes at Lewis house.com slash one, eight, two. You know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you. Outro Music