Why Most People Fail

Why do most people fail when it comes to building wealth? It’s a reality that many people struggle to control their personal finances. No matter how much (or how little) they earn, they just can’t seem to get it together. This is because so many people want to create lives of financial freedom. They say they want to invest, but only a precious few actually end up doing it.

Maybe we can put this down to a lack of discipline. Without discipline, you can’t stay the course and keep pushing to make the dream a reality.

Others might also live beyond their means. It’s been said that the average Australian spends 112% of their income every year, so we know this is a problem. When I spoke about evaporating money in my last email, this is what I was talking about.

These are all good answers to the question… But the biggest reason is this: EXCUSES.

Everybody who fails to build wealth has an excuse for why they haven’t been able to do it. And they use these excuses to justify themselves, to make themselves feel okay about not achieving what they want.

So, what’s your excuse?

Maybe it’s that you don’t have tons of cash to start with, so you can’t invest. Or, you don’t know how to get started, which means you never start at all. Whatever it is, know that the excuses that you tell yourself will only hold you back. A huge part of succeeding as an investor is to take accountability for your actions. And to do that, you’ve got to take an honest look at yourself in the mirror.

What excuses do you make to justify the financial position that you’re in right now? It’s only once you get those excuses out in the open that you can start confronting them.

The good news is that you have the power. Once you start holding yourself accountable, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

— Todd Polke