Heading Over The Top

Too many people are willing to settle for average

If you’re not exceptional, you’re merely average.

Think about that statement for a minute.

Too many people are willing to settle for and accept average. They shy away from being (and working with) above average and don’t know how to handle the exceptional.

This was shoved in front of me when I responded to a situation the other day and was told that I’d gone “over the top”…

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If it’s worth doing

Lots of people spend lots of time doing mundane things in an ordinary fashion, and could care less about the results.

We’ve all met these people. The ones that barely do the work they’re responsible for – yet they’re the first to complain about how they’re over-worked or passed up for that promotion.

Hey – guess what – it’s hard to get noticed when you’re average.

The best you can hope for is to not get noticed for being average.

If it matters, make it stand out.

Why did Sarah get that promotion? It wasn’t because she sat around doing the minimum amount of work. It’s because she wasn’t willing to settle for average and made the effort to be exceptional.

You might be thinking that your career profile is to work away at whatever it is you do while you spend your time quilting – because you really care about quilting.

That’s great – so make sure that when you quilt, you’re not just quilting, you’re creating! And what you’re creating is special – over the top. Not just any old quilt, but an exceptional quilt!

Will and Settle

My choice of sub-headline for this article was specific – the willingness of people to settle for and accept average.

I don’t expect everyone to be exceptional in everything they do. That would be unrealistic.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

But if we settle for average, if we never try to rise above average, we never will.

Don’t be willing to settle!

Unwilling to Settle, Willing to Try

And so, unable to stand meekly in the background, I ruffled someone’s feathers. Now it’s not like I used bad language or insulted them, but I did make some pointed statements about them being average. And got a response.

Think about public figures – They know they can’t get everyone to love them. But what’s worse for them than being hated is for people not to care one-way or the other – to be indifferent.

I’m looking forward to heading back over the top – to find the success that waits for me there.

And that isn’t such a bad place to be;-)