People often cite these three "reasons" to explain why they cannot learn a foreign language. Let's see whether they are actual reasons or just excuses.
Myth #1: I am busy, I don’t have time. (I have a family, I have work, I run a business etc.)
First, forget the "I don't have time" excuse. You actually have way more time than you might think that's just being wasted right now. Do you commute to work? Do you wait in lines? Do you wait for your order in a café? Do you wait for your friend who's always late? Of course, you do - everyone does! So why not stop wasting this time and use it for something useful like learning Chinese? Pull out your phone, pull out your small notebook and start learning. INVEST THIS 5 MINUTES IN YOURSELF.
Myth #2: I can learn everything for free. (Yeah you can! But it may take years, not months!)
Secondly, this might sound a bit harsh and disillusioning but the truth is, if you really want to learn a language (and don't want it to take 10 years), you HAVE TO invest money, you HAVE TO buy paid courses, you HAVE TO study with a teacher. Trust me, free content will only get you so far and it will not make you fluent fast. If you invest in yourself, you will have a sense of urgency which will bring you results really fast. I personally spent thousands of dollars on learning foreign languages and results speak for themselves. Now, if I see an Asian person there is a big probability that I will be able to speak to them in their language (Chinese, Korean or Japanese).
Myth #3: Language is not my priority at this moment
If you don’t see all the doors that a new foreign language can open for you, you will never be able to motivate yourself. NEVER. Think about your own reason why you should learn a particular foreign language. Fore some people it’s traveling, for others it’s expanding their business. But the common thing here is that no matter what you do in life, foreign language lets you LEVERAGE your current knowledge and expertise and gives you FREEDOM of choice.
Why do I say that? Here is my own example! I am not a linguist. But I have 2 master’s degrees (from two countries) in Economics and Finance. And I was willing to invest my time and money in learning foreign languages to leverage my expertise. So, currently I am doing international marketing and sales in 3 foreign languages. Mastering foreign languages helped me to leverage my skills and abilities. It helped me to 10x them. It gave me freedom of choice in my professional and even personal life.
So, if you REALLY see yourself as LIMITLESS, you have no excuses. Don’t let those myths stop you anymore. Those myths stopped too many people from achieving their potential in life. I am sure you can overcome them!
