We've spent this week dismantling your excuse arsenal.

"I don't have time." — Lie.
"I need to learn more first." — Lie.
"It's different for me." — Lie.
"I'll start when..." — Lie.
"I have to be realistic." — Lie.

You've seen them now. You can't unsee them.

The question is: what are you going to do about it?

Here's the thing about excuses:

Seeing them isn't enough.

You can know something is an excuse and still use it. You can recognize a lie and still believe it.

Knowledge doesn't break the pattern. Decision does.

You have to actively choose to stop using them.

You have to burn the arsenal.

What does that mean?

It means the next time "I don't have time" comes up, you catch it. You call it what it is. And you ask the real question: "Is this actually a priority?"

It means the next time "I need to learn more first" surfaces, you stop. You ask: "What can I do right now with what I already know?"

It means the next time "It's different for me" whispers in your ear, you shut it down. You find someone with your obstacles who did it anyway.

It means burning the escape routes. Refusing to let yourself off the hook. Holding yourself to a higher standard.

This is the first step of the Draw The Line framework for a reason.

Kill The Lie.

Because nothing else works until you do this.

You can have the best strategy in the world. The best plan. The best information.

If your excuse arsenal is intact, you'll find a way to not use any of it.

The excuses will always give you an out. A reason to delay. A justification for staying stuck.

You have to kill them first.

Here's my challenge for you today:

Pick one excuse from this week. The one that hit hardest. The one you recognized immediately because you use it all the time.

And make a decision: You're done using it.

Not "I'll try to use it less." Not "I'll be more aware of it."

Done. Finished. That excuse is dead.

Write it down if you have to. Tell someone. Make it real.

One excuse. Burned.

That's how it starts.

Your excuses or your future.

You can't have both.

Pick one.

Done negotiating.

-Joel

P.S. Next week, we go after the second step: Kill The Drag. Your environment is either pulling you forward or holding you back. Time to find out which.