If you are, you might as well not read this post. Sayonara.
If you want to be extraordinary…read on.
In the not too distant past, it was extraordinary to survive past 60, and in some countries, it still is unfortunately. But if you live in a first world country, surviving past 60 is somewhat expected. Of course, stuff happens and you could die earlier, but on the whole, there are no socio-economic factors that stop you from surviving past your 60th or for that matter 70th or 80th birthday.
OK, now that we have survival out of the way, what else do you want out of life? Is it to graduate from college, get a decent job, get married, have 2.5 kids, buy a house in the suburbs and then just keep on keeping on? If it is, great. You can stop reading now, your boss might be walking by any second anyway and catch you surfing the web.
But if you want something more…read on.
Unless you live on Mars, there is tremendous pressure to be ordinary, be normal, fit in, not rock the boat, keep quiet, and slink down the beaten path. It’s not easy when you want to do something out of the ordinary because you will no doubt encounter a great deal of criticism. Take Steve Jobs for example. He dropped out of college and “dropped in” to classes that he really enjoyed but were not necessarily on any major course curriculum. This was an extraordinary thing to do, it took lots of courage, and no doubt he encountered a great deal of criticism for this. But it turns out he founded a few of the most successful and innovative companies of all time such as Apple and Pixar, you may have heard of them. It’s not that Steve overcame the fact that he dropped out of college. He contends that it’s because he dropped out of college and attended classes that interested him that he was able to go on to create Apple.
Another example of doing something extraordinary is my own. I did something extraordinary that I still get criticism for, but has been one of the most wonderful things I ever did. I’m Indian and in my family and ethnic community it was just about unheard of to marry someone who wasn’t South East Asian. Not only was I bound by ethnic norms, but I was more tightly bound by religious ones. (Conveniently, they sort of reinforce one another.) Whereas marrying someone outside of my ethnicity was reprehensible, it could be overcome. But marrying someone outside the faith, why, not only was that unacceptable, but was and IS considered a huge sin. So, you can imagine the criticism I encountered when I married not only outside my ethnicity, but also outside my religion. You may be shaking your head now as you read this, criticizing me for going against my family, my community, and my religion. Why are you still reading this post? You should have stopped when I gave you the chance!
My point is, that although the criticism was loud, pervasive and intense, it was just hogwash. It was just a group of people scared that their way of life was being threatened and they were doing all they could to keep themselves sane. They wanted me to stay in the small, sheltered, ordinary world that was safe. Do I regret what I did? Heck no. It was the best thing that I ever did, marry my Caucasian, non-religious husband from Wisconsin. This single extraordinary act opened up whole new worlds that I never thought were possible for me.
So why am I sharing this extremely personal story with all of you? I want you to know that it’s not easy to do extraordinary things, but it’s so worth it. To you who are swimming against the tide and facing stinging criticism from all sides, I say carry on! Persist, as Seth Godin would say. Just Do it, as Nike would tell you. Listen to your heart, not your critics. You won’t be sorry in the long run, I promise.
What are you doing that’s extraordinary? Share it with us, we won’t criticize!
