Excuses Begone! – Book Review

I just got through reading, err, listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer's book Excuses Begone!

Even though this isn't a trading book per se, I believe that it is important to explore different points of view when it comes to examining my own psychology.

I usually get the audio version of a book whenever possible because that allows me to do two things at once.

For example, I listened to this entire audio book over the course of several sessions at the gym.  I have finished other audio books while cleaning my car or sitting on the toilet.

Audiobooks have to be one of the best inventions ever!

But I digress.

If you have never read or listened to any of Dr. Dyer's books before, they can be somewhat hit or miss.  I believe Dr. Dyer to be a very sincere and spiritually aware person and that can lead into some very metaphysical discussions in his books.

Too much of that may turn some people off, myself included, but what I really liked about this book is that he adds those discussions when needed, but he primarily sticks to every day examples in his own life and lists that are easy to follow and relate to.

As the title indicates, the purpose of the book is to get the reader to shed many of the excuses that people make as to why they aren't living at the level they would like to be at.  Dr. Dyer has a list of 18 frequently used excuses that can keep us from getting everything we want in life and how to first identify them as excuses and then dismiss them as being inhibitors to our own success and happiness.

It is amazing how a small shift in thinking can create a huge result.  An example that Dr. Dyer uses from his own life is when he was trying to quit smoking.  He kept telling himself that it would hard to quit.  That is one of the 18 excuses, it will be too hard to do _____.

But then he thought about it for a minute and realized that it is actually harder to smoke than not to smoke. Why?

Because you have to worry about having a lighter, making sure you have cigarettes, smoking in a designated area, carrying gum to cover the bad breath, worry about your fingers turning yellow, disposing of your ashes, disposing of your butts, making extra money to pay for it all, etc.

I am tired just writing that, I can't imagine actually doing it.  This simple shift in thinking helped him stop smoking and he hasn't smoked since.

How may times have we made excuses in our trading and in our everyday lives?  I know I have made my fair share of excuses.  After listening to this book however, I realize that event the most stubborn excuses have no basis in reality and I am free to change my perspective at any time.

Quite a few self development books that I have read just blow sunshine up your ass.  They  try to “inspire” you by getting you all jacked up with positive thinking but as soon as you turn off the audio or stop reading, you are left asking, “But how do I do that?”

This book actually gives techniques on HOW to do it, first by identifying the issues, then telling you how you might be able to deal with each one individually.  I highly recommend this book, it is one of the most insightful books I have ever had the privilege to read or listen to.

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