Living Way Beyond Your Average

My good friend Kevin Miller recently wrote an outstanding blog entitled "Maybe You Are Just Ordinary And Should Get A Job?" It was excellent! In it, Kevin wrote:

Nobody would say they just want to be ordinary...Yet very, very few people ever take one step to actually rise above the "norm." Don't be normal. Push through. Make it happen. Just do it. My exaggerated, made up personal statistic to make my point: 5% of your ability to rise above the crowd is your idea or endeavor being great. 95% is you just stepping out, taking the risk, and seeing it through to completion.

I completely agree!

Here are a few additional thoughts that I hope will add value to what Kevin has already written...

A phrase I throw around regularly in coaching is "ordinary people can live way beyond their average." You see, I am as average as average gets. And to be honest, I am cool with being average. I really don't care too much that I am average looking or average height (5'9"). I know I have less than average hair (I'm totally bald). I am average athletically and intellectually (actually, my SAT scores indicated that I'm significantly below average). To be honest, in almost every way, I'm...well...average.

But here's the point. Being average in stuff like this that really doesn't matter too much is fine. In fact, I think it's great. It helps me relate to the 90% of people who are...well...average.

However, in those few, important life roles when average isn't good enough, I want to live WAY BEYOND my average. In my private life, the part of my life that shapes who I am at my core, I refuse to settle for average. Why? Because settling for average here would negatively impact my character.

Also, as a husband and father, I see average as the enemy. My wife and I don't want to settle for an average marriage. What these means, then, is we strive to keep our relationship healthy, fresh, and exciting. And I want my kids to be able to look at me and say with pride, "That's my dad!" How will being average ever help me fulfill that goal?

Finally, an average job just won't do! If I am going to spend a minimum of 2,000 hours a year working, then I want to find work I love. What's more, I believe my calling is to help a new generation of workers do the same. Running hard after this goal is how I live way beyond my average in my professional role.

You see, REAL Success--the kind that leads to fulfillment, meaning, deep satisfaction, and genuine joy--doesn't come by being average in the most important roles of life. It only comes to those who are willing to live WAY BEYOND their average. And in reality, this kind of success doesn't "come" to anyone, we have to go get it.

To sum it up...

It's okay to be average in most areas of life. But in those 2-3 roles that matter most...LIVE WAY BEYOND YOUR AVERAGE!

© 2007 Kent Julian, Live It Forward™- All Rights Reserved

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Life and career coach Kent Julian, "America's Career Coach for a New Generation," publishes the "Live It Forward™ E-Connection," a bi-monthly ezine filled with free tips and strategies for pursuing the life and work you love. If you are ready to jump-start your career and find more joy and fulfillment in life, join the growing and dynamic E-Connection community now at http://www.liveitforward.com