You love them and hate them. You like them when they are easy and you might try to avoid them when they come from your boss. Unless you are a frustrated parent you can't say, "Because I said so!" What are they? Questions! Questions are the seeds of growth. The mind once challenged with a question never retreats to its previous state. No retreat from this question.
“What do you want to be truly exceptional at?
This question does not care if you are 14, 34, 54 or 94. If you ponder this question, wrestle with it and commit to answering it completely it will define who you are and how you will be remembered.
First, consider why you should take the time to answer this question. Let me suggest because eventually you will have to answer this question, "Did my life matter?" Yes, did you make a difference with your unique talent and abilities or were you just an "extra" in the movie of your life?
When you look through history you find people who had remarkable stories of achievement and impact. Study the lives of high achievers and you will find a common thread that ties them together. They desired to be exceptional at something and regardless of their situation, circumstance, or starting point they pursued it.
Over 100 years ago, the 30th President of the United States Calvin Coolidge wrote,
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.”
Coolidge's words ring true today. Persistence is omnipotent. When you commit to persist in the direction of becoming exceptional you will break through obstacles, bury disappointments and ignore discouragement. You were designed to be exceptional. Grasp it, embrace it and act on it!
What are your suggestions for becoming exceptional?
Good question - pun intended. Who's the judge of determining what a person believes they're exceptional at? When you boil it down, if you have a Christian world view, the lens you're looking through isn't yours or anyone else's - it's our heavenly Father's. He puts us in positions, places and in times for such a place as X, (whatever His plan is). And it doesn't matter whether we believe we're exceptional or not - we're the clay and the pot trying to tell the potter our 'opinion.' We can't get
sucked into pleasing anyone else, except maybe your spouse and kid. Do you see?
Questions truly are fascinating. God places dreams and ambition on your hearts and it is our job to pursue them with passion, vigor and excellence. Saint Augustine said, "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."