A Letter from Chris Suarez
YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY
A couple months ago I wrote about a quick trip to New York just to shift my perspective. Looking out the window at incredible structures and feats of modern technology, looking down at the streets to the thousands of people hustling and creating and taking on the day, and stepping into the city and experiencing art and music and food and design, all remind me just how incredible human beings are. Being in New York is a constant personal challenge as to whether or not I’m living up to my potential, or slipping into being average. Humans are anything but average. We are extraordinary.
There is incredible potential in every single one of us. By definition, potential simply means “having capacity to become something in the future.”
So what are we becoming? Are we proving that definition accurate? It’s simply a choice. We get to choose to become average or extraordinary. In fact, I would argue we were designed to be extraordinary. So it is actually more difficult to become average. Why?
Because humans are not average.
Our habits are average.
Our effort is average.
Our consistency is average.
Our commitment is average.
Our capabilities are anything but average.
The challenge today is that average has become typical. Look at the habits that are mainstream. They don’t lead to creating anything extraordinary anymore. The average American watches just over 4 hours of TV every day. That's 28 hours a week or 2 months of TV every year. More than 75% of Americans play video games - on average gaming about 15 hours a week. The average American spends just over two hours a day on social media.
Add just those habits up and you can see why it’s so easy to become, well, average. Our habits, our effort, our consistency, and our level of commitment can trend towards what is typical. After all, that is what average is.
Right now, more than perhaps ever before, we need to regain our focus on what we are truly capable of. Our businesses, our families, our friends, our partners, ourselves - need us to show up. Rethink your daily routines. Rethink the energy you walk into the office with. Rethink the level of commitment to your goal that you are willing to show up with. Rethink the promises you made to yourself and those around you. Rethink your capabilities.
The economy has stumbled. Access to capital has tightened and the cost of money has risen. Consumer confidence is down. Potential for recession is up. Supply chains are getting tighter. Inflation is slightly out of control. War and the effects of war are a daily headline. Being average right now just won’t cut it. Everything about what we choose to do needs to be extraordinary.
Be extraordinarily efficient.
Be extraordinarily effective.
Be extraordinarily engaged.
Be extraordinarily responsive.
Be extraordinarily consistent.
Be extraordinarily focused.
How you show up tomorrow will be how you show up every day. What you allow yourself to do tomorrow, you will allow yourself to do the next day. Conversely, what you allow yourself not to do tomorrow, you will allow yourself not to do the next day.
Right now, be a 100%’er. Don’t let yourself give 70%, or 80%, or even 90%. That’s just permission to trend towards average. It's so easy to show up for the day, and then make allowances and excuses as to why we didn't play all in. We let 30 minutes, or an hour, or more slide by. We skip the hard calls, and look for the easy texts or emails. We come in late, leave early, and avoid the difficult. Put another way, we search out average.
Give 100% of what you are capable of. You need it and the world needs it.
And that is easy. Because humans are extraordinary.
Chris
