Great people throughout history often fail, quite miserably, before finally reaching their goals, says international business strategist Dan Waldschmidt, author of “Edgy Conversations: How Ordinary People Achieve Outrageous Success.”

“Winston Churchill lost every public election until becoming prime minister at age 62; Henry Ford went bankrupt five times; Albert Einstein was expelled from school; Sigmund Freud was booed from a stage,” notes Waldschmidt.

“Ideas, brilliance, genius—they all mean nothing without the guts, passion, and tenacity necessary to make your dream a reality. But often, people fall back on excuses and give up on trying to reach their goals.”

Waldschmidt offers six tricks for jumping off the excuse train and forging the path to your goals:

1. Avoid the need to blame others for anything.
2. Stop working on things that just don’t matter.
3. Refuse to let yourself wallow in self-doubt. You’re alive to succeed. Go conquer.
4. Ask yourself, “What can I do better next time?” And then do it next time.
5. Proactively take time to do things that fuel your passion.
6. Apologize to yourself and those around you for having a bad attitude.