Ordinary People Can Do Extraordinary Things
“If you really want to be something, be consistent.”
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Ordinary people can do extraordinary things
I was chatting to my friend Jesse Laitinen last week, congratulating her on the wonderful success of Streetscapes, the NPO of which she is the founder. Her typically modest response was along the lines that “it is nothing brilliant really, it’s just about doing the boring work over time”. Sometimes we overlook the importance of ‘the boring stuff’ in our quest to succeed.
It’s easy to see how consistency plays out in sport. Many people may have the brilliance to become a pro golfer, but only a tiny portion have the commitment needed to put in the daily, consistent practice to keep turning up, and push through barriers even when things aren’t going so well.
Whether it is the achievement of a 10-year Doctorate, a gold medal at the Olympics or the success of a company like Nike – you see that it’s the daily attention to the small stuff, consistent application of work and commitment to success that makes the difference.
Quite simply, you don’t have to be a genius to succeed in business, but what you need to be is consistent, courageous and determined. So, when you look around you and hear other people’s brilliant ideas, rather than feeling intimidated, remember that no one is successful because of their idea – they are successful because of the implementation of the idea.
It’s the daily work of making things happen that makes the difference between success and failure. If you tend to judge yourself harshly for not being enough, remember that showing up consistently and doing the small stuff will take you further than all the flashy ideas that never leave the starting blocks.
So, today let’s celebrate everything that is ordinary about ourselves – especially that ability to commit to a goal and make it happen, because in the end this makes us very special indeed!
Have a fabulous week!
With kind regards
Catherine
