"EXCUSES ARE NAILS USED TO BUILD A HOUSE OF FAILURE"


















Pic.: Chetna Shetty



“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”

~Don Wilder and Bill Rechin

I have been teaching Ashar* for two years in a row now. So, by now, I can easily make out what is a valid reason and what is a lame excuse every time he bunks my class or turns up without doing his homework. To paraphrase what I just said in a blunt language, I can easily make out when Ashar tells a truth and when he tells a lie...

Ashar is a well-built, good-looking and well-off kid. He goes to a great college, hails from a great family and speaks great English, too...

The only problem with our young-man is – and, he is not alone in this problem - he is not very clear about his goals and priorities. This is his second-year degree... and, the way his life is going, I do not see any goals and priorities coming his way... This means, the drifting away in life will continue...

Only after he gets up from his bed, you will be able to say, “He got up”...

Only after he enters his college class-room, you will be able to say, “He has attended the college”...

Likewise, only after he comes inside my class-room, I will be able to say, “He has come”...

Only after he has shown me his homework, I will be able say, “He has done his home-work”...

Because, between the time he goes off to sleep and wakes up, anything can come and carry him away...

On his journey between his house and college... or his college and my class, wind can blow from any direction and take our Ashar away...

Till Ashar doesn't have his destinations clearly-defined, and not made it a priority to reach there... yes, anything or anyone can come from anywhere and hijack him away!

Two years time is long enough to teach me this simple reality on human nature...

We all fall sick. But, then, every day... Every other day?

We all have some function in the family, neighborhood or community to attend... But, everyday... Every other day?

I have seen Ashar for two solid-years and I can make out how many of those ‘reasons’ are valid and how much is plain, lame excuse... In fact, last afternoon, I had told him this: “How much of it is an excuse?” He had not turned up for two of my lectures. I was sure, he would miss one more in a row and that would be suicidal for him as I was scheduled to teach an important and tough chapter. I had sent him a message and forwarded a copy to him mom as well. When the class was about to begin, Ashar appeared... yes looking fit-as-fiddle, handsome and strong as always...

“Had a bad migraine sir,” Ashar offered the reason in his impeccable English...

I smiled...

“Trust me sir, I had a bad migraine”...

I smiled more...

“You can ask my mother, sir...”

I smiled even more...

And, Ashar knew why I was smiling... He had seen my reaction so many times before... He knew, I wouldn't buy those cock-and-bull stories from him... That, I stuffed hard cotton into my ears when I listened to them... That, I would challenge him, “Dude, if the same migraine attacks you on your University-exam day, will you go to write your exam or sleep at home?” That, I would ask him, “Have you heard of the boy who cried wolf?” and so on and so forth...

Ashar’s migraine is a plain excuse... And, as the wise words go, “Every excuse is a guarded lie!”

“Remember Ashar,” I told him point-blank, last afternoon, “If you continue like this, you will add more mess into your life and end up having the real migraine, one day.” I added, “Nobody will buy your cock-and-bull stories out there... They won’t hire you and pay you, tomorrow, to listen to them... You better learn it now.”

Mercifully, Ashar listens to me, every time I lecture him like this... He is a fun-loving, normal college-kid. I am sure, he will understand the meaning of my words, too... For, is he not old enough and intelligent enough to grasp the meaning of  such a simple line as this:

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”


* Name is changed

GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Ispita Jain said…
In deed, excuses are our guarded lies; nice article...
- Ispita Jain
August 12, 2014 at 4:03 PM
Nitya Rao said…
Inspiring piece, very helpful. Nitya Rao
August 14, 2014 at 10:34 AM
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