"Always give people more than they expect"
-Rickey Minor
This is Rickey Minor's (American Idol musical director) simple formula for success and while it's so simple, it's also very challenging. A friend of mine quoted the title of Minor's book to me a few years ago and while it had a nice ring to it and seemed pretty intuitive, I really didn't comprehend it until now. That extra mile and exceeding of expectations has become so clear to me now because I understand the determination it takes to achieve a goal as well as the obstacles that stand in the way. I do think that no one formula for success fits everyone and I think in my case it all comes down to skill and fear. I believe that my success will hinge on my discipline and gratitude to use my innate ability as well as face down my fear while developing new skills. For me facing fear is the starting point to getting to that extra mile.
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| Blue Ocean Strategy |
I believe that my childhood experiences are what partly kept the extra mile shrouded from me for so long. As a kid certain things came very easily for me and what may have looked like an above and beyond effort to others was really only a minimal effort on my part. I think that spoiled me to a certain extent because I never had to leave my comfort zone in order to made the grade I wanted, get into my the school I dreamed of attending as a child and get accolades as well as a thumbs up from my parents. The problem with that is staying secluded and safe in your comfort zone while trying to do something extraordinary with your life may work for a time depending on your natural ability, but will eventually hamper your efforts. What I have learned is that I must always push yourself to my full potential and be willing to try things I have never done in order to reach goals I have never attained.
This past year was a great initial step towards leaving my comfort zone behind me, but I didn't really how much of a first it actually was. It's very hard to break habits that have taken over 20 years to create. I have two degrees, some travel experience under my belt and a steep uphill climb to make towards my dreams. Now I see that my conventional methods just won't be sufficient for the challenges that face me today and the extra mile is my only path to success. Now I have to be willing to delve further into facing my fears and putting my comfort zone to rest for good. While I don't really believe there's no traffic on the extra mile, I do look forward to meeting the select company that is waiting for me there.
