John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947) is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written more than 60 books (in his book Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn, Maxwell claims that he has published 71 different books), primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow. His books have sold more than nineteen million copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY IS SHORTER THAN YOU THINK!
What do you think of when I say the word “ordinary?” These are the words that come to my mind: Common. Usual. Normal. Boring. Average. Something you see everyday.What about “extraordinary?” I think of: Amazing. Incredible. Uncommon. Unusual. Special. Above average. New.
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.
In the English language, only five little letters separate “ordinary” from “extraordinary:” extra. And while “extra” can be defined as “outside,” in English it also means “just a little bit more.”
The word we use is not as important as the idea: the distance between ordinary and extraordinary is shorter than you think. For too long, people have thought there was a huge gap between normal and special. They’ve assumed that “above average” was far above “average.” Unfortunately, once you believe that, it’s easy to conclude that since you’re “average,” you’ll never be anything else; that there’s no way to claw your way up to “above average.”
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.
I’m here to tell you that you’ve made the gap too wide. In life, an extraordinary performance is often separated from an ordinary one by the slightest of margins. What if your ordinary life could become extraordinary with only the smallest of changes? Would it be worth trying?
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.
Here are some “extras” that can help you close the gap between ordinary and extraordinary:
A little extra effort. There is a price to be paid for achievement. Sometimes it’s a large price. But sometimes just a little extra effort can yield significant results. What price are you willing to pay for success?
A little extra time. To give something time, we need something other than perseverance. We need patience with the process of growth. I believe that many of us overestimate events and underestimate the process. But we’ve got it all wrong. As I wrote in the Law of Process in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, leaders develop daily, not in a day.
A little extra help. I love this saying: “If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had help getting there!” Why do I love it? Because I’m a turtle on a fencepost. I know that I didn’t get to where I am in life on my own. I’m just not that smart, gifted, or fast. The truth is that those who reached “extraordinary” had help getting there. And many types of success can only be achieved with help. If you refuse to ask for – or accept – it, you limit yourself and your work to a lower level of achievement.
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.”
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.
Remember that ordinary and extraordinary are not far apart. If you accomplish just one of the above “extras,” your work will begin to be above average in that area.
If Ordinary People …
Gave a Little Extra Effort,
Spent a Little Extra Time,
Sought a Little Extra Help …
They Would Become Extraordinary!
