From Ordinary to Extraordinary

When you hear the word ordinary—in reference to a person, a restaurant, an athlete, an actor, or anything else—what comes to mind? If you’re anything like me, you automatically think of words such as average, plain, common, and every day. You’re probably not thinking in specifics—ordinary people and places simply aren’t that memorable.

Now switch mental gears and ponder what you think of when you hear the word extraordinary. Are words such as amazing, outstanding, brilliant, and exceptional coming to mind? I expect so. You might even be thinking of a particular individual who fits this description—an incredible football player, a captivating public speaker, a Nobel Prize-winning poet, a gifted pianist, or cellist.

This little exercise might seem to indicate that there is a huge gap between being ordinary and being extraordinary. It might lead you to believe that if you’re an ordinary person with an ordinary job, you have no hope of ever achieving success or doing something that really makes a difference.

This is a commonly held belief, but I’m here to tell you, it’s not valid.

Think of it in terms of professional baseball. If a player on your favorite team had a lifetime batting average of .340, you would consider him to be an extraordinary hitter—definite Hall of Fame material. At the same time, if another player on the same team consistently averaged around .240, you would probably think he was just okay—if you even knew who he was at all.

There would be worlds of difference between these two players when it came to fan recognition, playing time, and, of course, salary. But think about it. What do their batting averages really say about these players? For every 10 visits to the batter’s box, the first player gets a hit 3.4 times, compared with 2.4 times for the second player.

Percentage-wise, that’s not a great difference. And that’s my point. In baseball, as in other areas of life, there’s not much difference between ordinary and extraordinary. But that little bit makes a huge difference in four key areas. Extraordinary individuals:

• • Garner more respect.
• • Add more value to other people.
• • Make much more money.
• • Are perceived differently by the people around them.

Look closely at the two words we’ve been discussing: ordinary and extraordinary. What’s the difference between the two? Five little letters that make up the word extra. That’s it. Just put “extra” in front of ordinary and you get extraordinary.

So what does it take to move from ordinary to extraordinary? Think about it in terms of the topics covered in recent issues of Leadership Wired. If you want to go from ordinary to extraordinary—in your role as a leader or in any other area of life—give a little extra effort. Spend a little extra time. Seek a little extra help. Possess a little extra realism. Make a little extra change. That’s all it takes—a little extra.

Let me add two more areas where a little extra will help you make the leap to the next level.

1. • A little extra attitude.
     You see, motivation determines what you do, ability determines what you’re capable of doing, and attitude determines how well you do it. When I see a person operating with excellence, I know it’s because he or she has a good attitude. In writing about the Olympics, the late sports columnist Jim Murray commented that, in the history of the Games, the difference between gold medalists and silver medalists in all the timed events was less than one-tenth of a second. “That’s not ability,” he said. “That’s attitude.”

1. • A little extra planning.
     Robert Eliot, a cardiology professor at the University of Nebraska, has some great advice about this. He said, “It’s important to run not on the fast track, but on your track,” “Pretend you have only six months to live, and make three lists: the things you have to do, want to do, and neither have to do nor want to do. Then, for the rest of your life, forget everything on the third list.” What does it take to come up with such lists? A little extra planning.

You might think of yourself as pretty ordinary right now, but what would happen if you moved your life up just one notch? What would happen if you added a little extra in any of these areas? Remember—the distance between ordinary and extraordinary is not that great, but the resulting difference in your life when you make that leap could be far greater than you could even imagine.

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This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter “Leadership Wired” available at www.MaximumImpact.com.