Good morning, good afternoon or good evening depending on when and where you are tuning in today. This is episode 11 of The Blue Collar Executive podcast. I am your host Lewis Taulbee Jr. If you look closely at the greatest accomplishments and the biggest failures in history you will see there is a very fine line. If you squint really hard, you will see a four letter word written on that line. Can't. Well I can do this podcast so let's jump in.
Thomas Edison once said “many of life's failures are from people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”. Isn't that sad? People lose out on so much of the effort that they have given because they don't push themselves just a little bit more. Can't never could do anything. I heard that said many times growing up as a kid and I've said it to my kids every time I heard them say I can't. It's just a little off the cuff comment, but if we really think about it, it's a factual statement. It's like when dad walked into that welding shop and applied for the job. When the man asked him if he could weld, he said yes. Now he didn't even know what the word weld meant, but he didn't lie. The man asked can you weld not do you know how to weld. Dad's response was I can do anything any other man in this place can do. Most of us use the word can't as a blanket excuse to get out of an invite or doing something we just don't want to do. Instead of being honest and saying we just don't want to do that, or we're too dang lazy to do that, we start with the words I can't and then follow it up with some flimsy excuse. The truth is in that excuse that follows because and because always follows I can't. My dad could have said I can't because I don't know how. Instead he chose to say I can and eliminate the need for an excuse. Wouldn’t the world be a great place without excuses? That's why I don't accept the word I can't for my children, my employees, and certainly not for myself. Anytime I hear or think of the word I can't, I immediately begin thinking of the why not. More than 90% of the time it really isn't that I can’t rather it's that I don't know how, it looks too difficult, I'm afraid or I simply just don't want to do it. I really do this process. My wife will be the first to tell you that if you want to motivate me to do something, just tell me I can't. I don't know why, but that sets a fire in me like no other. I'll do everything in my power to prove you wrong. I thrive on a challenge. I guess this could be perceived as a fault and if I'm being honest, it's gotten me in trouble more than once. I've always struggled with authority. Not because I don't respect my superiors or I don't like taking orders, I just don't like being told I can't. If you tell me something can't be done, I promise you I will figure out how it can. You have heard the saying where there's a will there's a way. That saying came from someone just like me trying to prove themselves or someone else wrong when they were told it can't be done. When a roadblock arises you change your direction but you never change your decision to get to that destination. Let's dig a little deeper and try to eliminate some of the why nots. The first one is I don't know how. That's an easy one. Did you know we only use approximately 10% of our brain during our lifetime? There's plenty of room in our hard drives to learn something new. It was said that Albert Einstein used 15% of his brain. He said this in one of his famous quotes, “it's not that I'm so smart it's just that I stay with the problem longer”. As impossible as something might seem to understand, if we stay focused on the problem we will surprise ourselves more than not by finding a solution. The second is I can't physically do it. You don't know your physical limit if you don't push yourself. Let me say that another way. You will find your true strength when you get to the point where you think you can't go any farther. Strength doesn't come from what you can do it comes from overcoming the things that you once thought you couldn't do. Some of the most inspiring people are those that have been told by doctors that they couldn't do something. Maybe they will never walk again or maybe they have a terminal disease, but they don't accept that. They know that with God, all things are possible and with faith and determination they prove those doctors wrong. You don't know how strong you are until strength is your only choice. When I was a young man, I struggled with anxiety almost to a debilitating extent. One day I turned on the television and I saw a man by the name of David Ring. He struggled to stand in one place and struggled to talk, but he gave a powerful sermon in front of millions of viewers. At the end of it he said, “I have cerebral palsy what is your excuse?”. That hit me like a hammer to the head. In that moment I threw away all my medication and I never saw another doctor again because I realized I had the power within myself to overcome this. The only obstacle was the excuse that I was allowing myself to use. David Ring is still one of the most inspirational influences in my life. I just met him two years ago for my first time. I highly recommend finding him on YouTube and his book titled A Boy Born Dead is an amazing read. The point is we will never know our limitations if we don't push ourselves to them. I remember when I joined the track team in high school. I've always been a pretty fast runner so my football coach, also being the track coach, asked me to join the team. The first day of practice he told us to take a few laps and I was dying after the first one. At the end of the day he told us all where we would be competing for the year. He told me that I would be a long distance runner. I respected coach so I kept my mouth shut but I was thinking this guy is either blind or he's been drinking somewhere while we've been running. I really thought it'd be impossible for me to run a mile without stopping, but I went to school every day and I ran around that track and pushed myself a little farther each day. It wasn't long before a few miles was nothing at all for me. In fact, by the end of the season I set a county record for the 880. I guess my coach wasn't as dumb after all. The bottom line is until we dig deep inside ourselves we can't use physical limitations as an excuse to follow the words I can’t. The most common reason people say I can't is they have fear. That's human nature. We all want to live inside our little comfort zones but to me the bigger fear is getting to the end of our road and having regret that we never pushed ourselves outside of our comfort zone. Remember fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision. We are all going to feel fear from time to time. That's human. We have to make the decision to not allow that to hold us back. I have a John Wayne quote hanging above my office door that says “courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway”. God knew that fear would be our biggest challenge in reaching our destinations because the phrase do not be afraid is written 365 times in the Bible. That's a daily reminder from God to live every day fearless. In most cases it's not physical fear. It's the fear of failure. I have a little fear every time I speak in front of a group of people that I may screw up and embarrass myself. It's okay to be afraid. It's not okay to allow it to hold us back from achieving our destiny. As we eliminate the why nots the statement can't never could do anything makes a little more sense. When I coached high school baseball can’t was one of the most common words I heard from the young players. A pitcher would say, I can't get this ball to break right. A hitter would say, I can't hit a breaking ball. I would always remind them that baseball is a game of failure. You will fail more than you succeed. All the greats that played baseball had one thing in common, perseverance. The most rewarding feeling as a coach was when a player worked hard to prove themselves wrong. When that pitcher's ball broke perfectly and they got the final strike to win a game, or when the hitter jack hammered that pitch that he couldn't touch before. I always hope that what they just proved to themselves would carry with them throughout life. When they ran into obstacles they wouldn't just give up. They would remember that with hard work and perseverance, they can do anything. Perseverance is not only the most common trait amongst great baseball players, it is also the most common trait you'll find with any great leader, trailblazer or anyone that is achieved success. Let me tell you about someone that probably never had the words I can't in their vocabulary. He failed in business in 1931. He was defeated for state legislator in 1932. He tried another business in 1933, but it failed. His fiance died in 1935 and then he had a nervous breakdown in 1936. In 1943 he ran for Congress and was defeated. He tried again in 1948 and was defeated again. He tried running for Senate 1955, but he lost. The next year he ran for Vice President but lost. In 1959 he ran for Senate again and was defeated again. In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln said “the difference between history's boldest accomplishments and it’s most staggering failures is often simply the diligent will to persevere”. I bet some of Abe's closest friends and family advised him to hang it up at some point, but he never let anyone nor himself stop him. I imagine that after every defeat he would say, can't never could do anything. Think about it. If everyone could just become an expert at anything without working for it, there would be no reward for anything. Did you know the definition of the word can't in the dictionary is hypocritical and sanctimonious talk. Let's work on removing that four letter word from our vocabulary by eliminating the why nots before we even say it. I think if we do this we will surprise ourselves and others by accomplishing so much more than anyone thought possible. James 1 says blessed as the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test of time, he will receive the crown of life. Let's continue to grow through what we go through and earn our crown. Life is full of disappointments, failures, and setbacks, but none of these can permanently stop us. We have the power in us to overcome anything that life throws at us. There's nothing as powerful as a mind made up. So don't give up, cave in, or stop believing that it's possible. It's not over until you win. Remember, the deeper the well the purer the water.
That brings us to the end of another episode of The Blue Collar Executive podcast. I hope you found some value in it or at the very least found it entertaining. I wish you all nothing but great success. Thank you so much for listening.