A million used to seem like a big number but it’s not anymore. You’re actually one in 6.8 billion. As a human you’re not rare. But as the unique individual that you are, you most certainly are rare. But in terms of how you live your life – are you actually rare or are you just another one of the masses?
One sure way to be rare is to be excellent.
You don’t have to be famous, you don’t have to be the best, you just have to strive for excellence. Strangely, it’s an unusual approach to life.
He’s rare because he’s put a lot of effort into learning how to play the guitar in a unique way. Most people who learn the guitar just learn a few chords and then their guitar becomes an ornament gathering dust in their bedroom.
Don’t be just another safe, average, middle-of-the-road version of you. Be the excellent one that you are more than capable of being. It’s really the only way to go.
When the proverbial hits the fan or when everything seems to happen at once, it’s easy to move into firefighting mode. We concentrate on the immediate problem. We drop the things that keep us sane. We don’t go to the gym because there isn’t time. We eat fast food because we’re too tired to cook. We neglect ourselves and our lives.
This is an understandable reaction. We’re putting all our energies into dealing with the big problems, we’ve prioritised them and put other things to the side. But it’s not the best way.
What we should be doing in difficult times is really adhering to the things that keep us sane. This is the time we should be going to the gym so that we can burn off some stress, and keep a state of balance in our lives. We should take the time to eat properly and get enough rest so that we can face the challenges with a healthy mind and body.
Easier said than done of course, but in the long run it makes life a lot more manageable.
Reading a book about what it’s like being a soldier in Iraq isn’t the same as actually going there. It doesn’t mean you really have any idea what it’s really like. You might think you do, but you don’t.
In a similar way, reading blogs about personal development doesn’t mean you know anything about it, or that you are really doing anything.
You aren’t developing yourself – until you start to act.
How many of these blogs/books/DVDs/courses do you need to consume before you start to implement what you are learning? Success won’t magically come and offer itself to you simply because you’ve read enough blog posts.
Personal development doesn’t mean reading blogs…or talking about it…or telling other people how to do it. Personal development is not a passive thing. It is a very active thing.
To find out what “Personal Development” really means you’ll have to take action.
Self-proclaimed skeptics generally aren’t skeptics, they’re just people who enjoying disagreeing with things.
But healthy skepticism is a different thing. It’s good to have a look at things before trusting them. It’s good to consider what people are saying before agreeing or disagreeing with them. It’s good to keep an open mind.
Blind acceptance or blind rejection are both unhelpful. But there is a healthy balance somewhere in the middle where you can consider all things in the light of your own knowledge and experience. You can take into account the all the facts along with the wisdom of others who have proven themselves to you, weigh up the options and make your decision.
There’s still no guarantee that you’re right or wrong, but it’s a healthy way to go about it.
Society has norms, or accepted ways of doing things.
Generally people follow these norms, and generally they do so on automatic pilot.
So over time these norms become rules. If you break them then people want to know why.
But if you look at the really successful people in this world you will find that generally they haven’t played within the rules. They’ve broken out and taken risks. They’ve dared to risk embarrassment, humiliation, failure, ridicule…
Unfulfilled dreams are like an itch you really want to scratch. You forget about them for a while but then when you think about them you really want to scratch them again.
If you want to be successful the trick is to keep your dreams in mind…
Post them on the fridge,
Write them on the bathroom mirror,
Carry them on a piece of paper in your wallet,
Set reminders on your mobile and email,
Talk to friends, family, colleagues about them…
Do whatever it takes to keep them in mind so that the itch is there.
I was on a bus a while back and a little girl’s conversation to her dad was something like this, “Look Daddy there’s a car. Hey, there’s a dog. That car’s blue…there’s some people walking…look there’s another car…” And it went on like that for ages. She was interested in everything.
Somewhere along the line our interest wanes. But when you meet people who are still curious – they are always interesting. They can always tell you something you didn’t know. They have stories to tell and experiences to share; they are fascinating people to meet.
