If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. ~ Jim Rohn
I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary. ~ Lou Holtz
Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. ~ Jim Rohn
I don’t work at being ordinary. ~ Paul McCartney
I… am… ordinary. This is something that bothers me from time to time. There are moments in life when I feel as ordinary as ordinary can possibly be. It makes me sad, as I do not really want to be ordinary. I want to be extraordinary.
Please, don’t get me wrong, I do not need to be rich and famous (not that that would be bad, or anything!) I do not need to have a position with the highest of prestige, I just want to know that there are things that I can do extraordinarily well – talents that I can share with the rest of the world – talents that others would actually be interested in and want to learn about.
This has been a struggle my entire life, my deep desire to have a global impact fighting with my more ordinary ways – the desire is there, the ideas and execution, perhaps not. Yet, this is something I can change. I can do what Jim Rohn suggested and work to do my ordinary things extraordinarily well….. or I can take risks, and allow myself to be in a position where ordinary just does not measure up.
I am not sure what I am going to do, but I do know that I cannot settle for mediocrity, for ordinary, in my life.
Today, 80 days ’til 40, I challenge myself to step outside of my comfort zone so that I might cross from ordinary to extraordinary.
~400daystil40
Fortuitous Forty!!! 
deWriterMD
December 3, 2012 at 00:10
Reblogged this on MetaRead360 Small Press presents and commented:
NOTE: I hope you don’t really feel ‘ordinary’…you’re soo not!
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:19
Thanks!!! 🙂
appletonavenue
December 3, 2012 at 01:04
I’d like to write my autobiography one day and call it, “My Ordinary Life.” I never liked that title. I’m with you. Make an impact, do something risky, try something unusual. I too am stepping out of my comfort zone again. I don’t want any regrets.
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:18
I LOVE it!
buckwheatsrisk
December 3, 2012 at 03:20
i’ll bet you’re an extraordinary teacher and making a huge impact on the kids! 😉
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:18
Thank you! Mostly I am stuck behind a desk, which is what happens when you end up being a leader in an educational system – but the kids make me smile every day.
buckwheatsrisk
December 3, 2012 at 23:04
i’ll bet you make them smile too!
walkwiththerabbi
December 3, 2012 at 03:55
Oh how I wish that we could invest a few hours together. I have so much I could share with you. Remember – “the me I see is the me I’ll be.” See yourself doing what you want to be doing, living where you want to be living, enjoying the life you want to be living – then start thinking it, talking it, and where practical, doing it. The mind will start to believe it. I hope this helps. Hugs till next time.
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:18
Ah, yes that is a WONDERFUL quote! I need to start seeing me as a person with a doctorate! Hmm, and maybe my own NGO, and….. 🙂 🙂
knittingwithheart
December 3, 2012 at 05:53
That extraordinary moment… when one tries to fill another’s ordinary shoes 🙂
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:17
hehehe! 🙂
simon7banks
December 3, 2012 at 13:13
A reply to Lou Holtz might be: “We weren’t. But then a lot more of us came along.”
Unavoidably, we will be ordinary in most of our activities. I peel potatoes in an ordinary way. My lungs are ordinary and this is good news. To go the ordinary way from point A to point B is not necessarily second-best. The key thing is to be open to being extraordinary on occasion and especially in the things we’re special at.
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:16
I LOVE this philosophy!
Sid Dunnebacke
December 3, 2012 at 15:53
Aren’t you an educator? That part of you makes you extraordinary in my book.
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:16
Yes, I am an educator – and thank you! 🙂
sued51
December 3, 2012 at 16:06
I have struggled with the same thing, my friend. I jotted this down in my notebook last summer…”The world convinces me every day that I am ordinary. But if I am not unique, where is my kindred spirit? Where is the person who says, ‘That’s exactly what I think!’ or ‘That’s exactly how I feel?'”
Check out the blog I wrote about my dad:
http://sued51.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/living-an-extraordinary-ordinary-life/
400daystil40
December 3, 2012 at 22:15
Wow, Thank you! What a great blog post!
Another Thousand Words
December 4, 2012 at 05:20
Take a good look at today’s image, 400…each stone is different, and extraordinary in its own way! It’s a pity we humans sit and ‘wish’ to be extraordinary, but are not willing to do the work that goes along with becoming extraordinary…and by that word, I do not mean bizarre, as many feel THAT’S what makes them ‘better’ than others. What counts is continuing to grow, to pay more attention to the details of LIFE…and living it to the best of one’s ability! That’s ‘extraordinary’, and that’s when everything continues to ‘fall into the right places’! Each one of us is exceptional…unfortunately, some/many believe it when told over and over they are not! You’ve ‘made the grade’ in my book, as an extraordinary human being…and I don’t even know or care what you look like, what you wear, eat or drive!!!
400daystil40
December 4, 2012 at 21:26
🙂 THANK YOU!!! 🙂
artistspromenade
December 13, 2012 at 23:17
I think you are well on your way to making an ever-expanding impact with your blog. I feel this way too and it is inspiring to know I’m not alone!
400daystil40
December 16, 2012 at 00:07
Thank you so much for your very kind words! 🙂