The Secret to Being Extraordinary

I do a fair bit of Personal Branding work with my clients, helping them to not only determine what their Brand is but to refine their delivery of that brand through their actions, presence and results. When asked to define either how they are currently seen or how they would like to be seen few, if any, have ever used the word 'Extraordinary'.

Think about this for a moment though. Wouldn't we all like to be thought of as extraordinary, as special, as unique, as better than, well...Ordinary? How many of us would consciously choose a Brand that defines us as 'ordinary'? Yet, as we shy away from selecting the moniker of Extraordinary, that may be just what we are doing.

Really, the only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the 'extra'. To set ourselves apart from the ordinary, to be extraordinarily good at something, all that we need to do is a little bit more than the next guy, to deliver something extra. Think about this for a moment. How hard would it be, over the course of your work day, over the duration of a project, to give just that little bit more?

Many make the mistake of believing that extraordinary requires some super-special skills or talents, typically reserved for the precious few. In so believing we put the possibility of extraordinary out of our reach, making it appear unobtainable. We therefore create the very excuse that prevents us from striving, from trying. How much more liberating though to realize that extraordinary doesn't require anything beyond what you already possess. It just requires more of it! To stand out from the crowd you need only do what you are already doing, and something extra.

The more fully you embrace this principle of the value of 'extra', of doing just that one thing more, the sooner you will begin to reap the benefits yourself. That little bit extra is all it takes to move you from ordinary to "Extra"-Ordinary.

Go out and make this an Extraordinary day!