Daily Inspiration: “Nothing great was ever achieved by being average!”

“Nothing great was ever achieved by being average!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Have you actually ever set out to be marginal? Do you start every day thinking that your goal is to be average? Is your waking moment consumed by the idea that you just put in enough effort to be just as good as everyone else but not much more? Do you want to do just enough but not too much so that you don’t get ahead of the pack?

Of course not! None of us consciously set out to be average, but sometimes it just works out that way. That’s why mindset matters!

We all strive to achieve the best that we possibly can; to live up to our potential. We always try to do just a little bit better. We all want to achieve just a little bit more. But real innovators take it just one step further – they don’t just try to do better, they try to do the best that they can! They don’t seek the status quo as their goal – they look for a new ‘quo.’ Average isn’t a goal but simply a distance marker in their effort. Their belief system gives them the passion and purpose that can help them to achieve their goal.

A little bit better? That’s not good enough!

When it comes to designing your future, you should adopt the same type of ‘stretch mindset.’ Push yourself just a little bit harder; make the goal a little bit bigger; set your sights somewhat higher. Use that type of motivation to tackle your next project, the effort that follows what you are doing now, and the next item on your list. You just might find it will help to push you along the way to ‘extraordinary.’  Because each and every day, you have a chance to get there!

Challenge yourself with these thoughts:

• you can be timid or you can be bold
• you can be weak, or you can choose to be strong
• you can choose to be fearful or you can go forward with courage
• you can choose to be like everyone else, or you can choose to be your own self
• you can have small ideas, or you could create big ideas
• you can choose to be small thinking, or you can have expansive views
• you can be narrow in your viewpoint or wide in your perspective
• you can choose to stay in the present, or prepare yourself for your future

Don’t be average. Seek the extraordinary!