Stop for just a second, take a look around you and ask yourself if this is the quality of life you were hoping for. If you answered �No�, then my question to you is �why not?� �What are you doing to change your life?� Most people who have been asked what they�ve done to change their lives say �it�s no use because�..� and so it goes�. excuses. But it doesn�t have to be that way. The first step in getting out of the rut is to stop making excuses and assume responsibility for the quality of your life. You can change your life situation today. How do I know? I know because others have done it. There will always be obstacles, but none that can�t be overcome. The only requirement is the desire to change. Mark Twain once said �It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.� If your �want to� is strong enough, you can achieve almost anything you set your mind to. The second step to getting out of the rut is step out in faith and, as the Nike commercial says, �Just do it�. There is no time like the present to change course. You might not succeed the first time, but you must keep trying. Success will come with persistence. Remember the old saying �Today is the first day of the rest of your life.� Don�t worry about making a mistake. Albert Einstein once said �Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.� So step out. Take a chance, and as William Durant, the founder of General Motors said �Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it.�