Excusez mon titre un peu « familié », mais dans la vraie vie, ici au Québec, entre nous, c’est comme ça qu’on se parle.

On a daily basis, I sometimes witness people who claim that the results they have achieved are not what they had hoped to achieve. Of course, it's not their fault, it's because... And there, the reasons cited are as far-fetched as each other.

I've heard all kinds. Just recently, which justifies the reason for my column on this subject, a salesman claimed that if his sales had dropped, it was because the competing company was supplying his salesmen with more high-end cars than HIS company was supplying. I replied: "Leave your car alone and work, you bastard!

I won't bury my head in the sand, it's happened to me and I'm sure it's happened to you too. Sometimes we become experts in excuses, but in my opinion, when we don't reach our goal, it's because we didn't work hard enough.

So, have you ever quoted some of these excuses? Here is my answer!

• My sales are not as high as expected because a new competitor has arrived! ... Work it out tabarnouche!
• I am not sure my project will work! ... Work tabarnouche!
• It will depend on the other bids my client receives!... Work it out!
• I feel discouraged these days! ... Work tabarnouche!
• C’est plus « tough » depuis quelques années! … Travaille tabarnouche!
• The customers are less loyal than before! ... Work tabarnouche!
• I'm afraid of being overtaken by the young people! ... Work tabarnouche!
• It's not like it used to be! ... Work it out, tabarnouche!
• Etc. etc. etc.

It is the athletes who work the hardest who win the most medals.

It is the entrepreneurs who work the hardest who are the most successful in business.

The students who work the hardest get the best grades.

It is the salespeople who work the most who have the most customers.

It is the authors who work the most who write the best books.

It is the singers who work the hardest who have the best careers.

The self-employed who work the most are the most successful.

You can use all the excuses in the world, one truth will always be confirmed; behind every success there is always a lot of work.

So stop complaining and get to work!