If someone told me that I was average, how do you think that would make me feel? It probably depends on the subject matter referenced. In general, most of us would likely be at least slightly offended by the term average. Average can be described as the best of the worst, the worst of the best, right in the middle.
Average can even be described as mediocre. I certainly find that term—mediocre—offensive. The word makes me shudder. What movies or restaurants do I take the time to brag about? The really good ones! I don’t waste my time on the mediocre, or average, restaurant or movie I saw recently. We brag about our kids’ accomplishments, just like our parents bragged about ours. Today, we put those on Facebook. We may even recognize that our parents still brag about us (until we have grandchildren). Secretly, we love it when others brag about us—it’s like we are exceeding expectations.
In life, there are many people that like to just get by. They work to make it to the weekend. There is nothing wrong with the weekend—or days you would classify as your days off. But the time devoted to five days of work for two days of doing your own thing is hardly the trade-off to define a successful life. There are single mothers putting in the time and effort at multiple jobs to give their children an opportunity for a better life. They may not truly like what they are doing, but they know their “why” – their reason for doing what they do. Many of them have discovered a new, innate drive to do what they need to do to care for their family. They may have had a rough start, but they are working to exceed expectations.
When you find meaning in what you do, what you do has meaning.
At Leadership Harbor, we look at this similarly. When you exceed expectations, you will find more opportunity for rewards to come your way. It’s like sowing seeds. When we plant something—grass, vegetables, etc.—it may be weeks before we see any results. And we don’t see results just because we are watching—that’s management. We see results because we water and care for the seeds—that’s leadership. Our goal is to exceed expectations by offering our best, not our average.
Average people do not want others to go beyond average. Succeed anyway. Average people do not dream big. Dream big anyway.
Dreaming with you,
Brian and Kris
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