Popular Wisdom
or Plain Excuses?

MIAMI, May. 14 /PRNewswire/ - When shared by many and repeated often enough, excuses tend to become part of what is normally accepted as popular wisdom. With time, they’re molded and transformed into clever and seemingly profound aphorisms that are assumed to be true and are adopted as infallible formulas for success. However, in reality, many of these sayings are nothing more than erroneous ideas that keep us right in the middle of our comfort zone, unable to move forward in life.

Sayings such as, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or “Once a thief, always a thief” popularize two mistaken and absurd ideas. The first one suggests, and perhaps even encourages us to believe, that there is a certain age after which nothing new can possibly be learned, while the second states as fact that there are some habits or behaviors that can never be changed. To Dr. Camilo Cruz, author of ONCE UPON A COW: Eliminating Excuses and Settling for Nothing But Success (Perigee Hardcover; September 2009; $19.95), these fashionable aphorisms are nothing more than well disguised excuses, justifications, pretexts and explanations–or as he calls them: “cows”—that are great at only one thing, keeping us bound to a life of mediocrity, settling for second place and preventing us from living the life we truly deserve and were meant to live.

These ideas not only make us feel powerless but also blind us to the ability we have to change, learn, and adapt in positive ways. We simply assume that if pundits, preachers, and parents are repeating these adages, then they must be true or, at the very least, they must contain some golden nugget of good advice. Nevertheless, often the only reason they’ve become familiar sayings is simply that they’re cows shared by a great number of people.
For example, take a moment to consider whether the following popular proverbs have any validity or whether they’re just very opportune excuses:

• No good deed goes unpunished.
• Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
• It takes money to make money.
• Don’t expect much, and you’ll never be disappointed.
• Better safe than sorry.

Let’s take a closer look at a few of these sayings to appreciate what they truly represent and what it is costing you to subscribe to them. Imagine, for example, the absurdity of believing that not only will our good deeds not be rewarded but we’ll also be punished for them. What a cynical philosophy of life.

Or picture how illogical it would be to say no to a new career opportunity, preferring to stay in a job that you no longer enjoy and is not getting you anywhere because “better the devil you know than the angel you don’t.” Yet many people accept this adage at face value, not knowing that in doing so they are settling for far less than they deserve.

How about this one: “It takes money to make money.” Let’s evaluate how accurate that really is. I’ve certainly heard it from many wannabe entrepreneurs who are unwilling to take action and instead excuse themselves with the help of this pearl of wisdom. A true entrepreneur will surely tell you that this idea is totally erroneous. Time and time again, the many success stories of those who dare to dream big dreams have shown us that it takes vision, commitment, and perseverance­—­not money­—­to turn an idea into gold.

“Better safe than sorry,” implies that unless we play it safe, at the end we’ll pay a heavy price for our boldness; that if we take risks, choose the unfamiliar, aim too high, or dare to try something new, more than likely we’ll always be sorry.

Therefore, before you get caught using any of this “conventional wisdom” again, make sure that you’re not perpetuating these and other cows that serve no purpose other than to make you more accepting and tolerant of an average life.

DR.CRUZ IS AVAILABLE TO INTERVIEWS
CONTACT : Ivonne Ramirez of Taller de Exito, +1-954-846-9494, iramirez@tdee.com