What Separates the Good, the Average, and the Great?

Every one of us wants to be successful. Most people don’t want to live an average life. Why settle for ordinary when you can become extraordinary, right? But what makes extraordinary people extraordinary? What separates the good, the average, and the great?

Well, we will find out in this article. By the end of this article, you will understand the secrets of success and how you can work your way to become extraordinary and live a successful life.

What It Takes to Be Successful

I love the story from the Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Eric Barker shares what it takes for an ordinary person like you and me to become extraordinarily successful.

In his best-selling book, he told the story of Jure Robic, the world’s best ultra-endurance athlete who became prominent for his multiple wins in the men’s solo category of Race Across America (RAAM).

Unlike Tour de France, Race Across America has no stops. The Tour has breaks and stages, but RAAM is a continuous race. Meaning, the moment you take an hour to rest or sleep, your competitor can continue to pedal and leave you behind.

After a few days into the race, the riders must make the decision when to stop and rest. The competition is tight, usually, within an hour of each other, the riders know that if they stop to sleep for just 2 or 3 hours, they will be passed and need to regain their position.

Jure Robic has won the RAAM five times. In 2009, he completed the race in under 9 days, literally half a day ahead of the number 2 spot. And in 2004, he finished the race and bested the #2 competitor by 11 hours. Can you imagine that? After you see the champion crossed the finish line, you have to wait for half a day to see the runner-up finish the race.

So, what makes Jure Robic such an ultra-endurance athlete?

Did he have the best coach? No, one of Robic’s friends said that he was completely “un-coachable”.

Or was he genetically gifted as an ultra-athlete? No, Robic was physically typical like every other professional athlete.

So, what makes Robic such a great athlete that he managed to win the RAAM 5 times? Well, Eric Barker says in his book, that the reason Robic managed to outcompete and win the race a lot faster than the rest is his insanity.

This article from the New York Times also mentioned Robic’s insanity when he endured the race…

The craziness is methodical, however, and Robic and his crew know its pattern by heart. Around Day 2 of a typical weeklong race, his speech goes staccato. By Day 3, he is belligerent and sometimes paranoid. His short-term memory vanishes, and he weeps uncontrollably. The last days are marked by hallucinations: bears, wolves and aliens prowl the roadside; asphalt cracks rearrange themselves into coded messages. Occasionally, Robic leaps from his bike to square off with shadowy figures that turn out to be mailboxes. In a 2004 race, he turned to see himself pursued by a howling band of black-bearded men on horseback.

So, what does this has to do with becoming extraordinarily successful?

1. Transforming your weakness into strength

To many people, their weaknesses are the obstacles that limit them from succeeding in life. But if you look at it from another point of view, your weakness can be transformed and turned into your strength.

In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric says that people with the defect in the SCN9A gene did not feel pain. And when you think about it, people who suffer this gene defect are extremely vulnerable to everyday life.

What if you couldn’t feel pain? You may only notice a cut in your leg 2 weeks later when you see your leg swell and difficult to walk. Dangerous, isn’t it?

It is such a weakness to have this defect in the gene. You will have to check on your body every day to see if everything is going alright. Because you can’t feel pain, you can’t know if you have been physically hurt.

In the bestselling novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, the villain has the same gene disorder, he can’t feel pain. But in the novel, the disorder is presented as a superpower. The villain is a professional boxer and he can’t feel pain. Making him unstoppable and a terrifying foe.

As you can see, your weaknesses don’t need to be an obstacle that stops you. When you put it in a different context, your weakness can become your strength.

Steve Jobs was famous for his bad temper and personality. Here’s an example of Jobs’ temper from Business Insider:

When Apple was about to reveal the “Bondi Blue” iMac, he berated his good friend and ad partner Lee Clow over the phone. Jobs said Clow’s team was getting the color wrong for the print ads. He shouted, “You guys don’t know what you’re doing. I’m going to get someone else to do the ads because this is f*xked up.”

Eventually Clow sat Jobs down and made him look at the original photos versus print ads. Clow was right. Jobs backed down.

Jobs may be difficult to work and friend with, but when you put it from work and business, his temper and personality were what built up Apple.

Therefore, if you want to be extraordinarily successful, you have to turn your weaknesses into strengths.

Never let your weakness stops you from achieving the success you want. Instead, put it in a different perspective and use your weakness as a strength.

2. Break the rules and take a different path

You can’t become extraordinary when all you do is play by the rules. As what Arnold Schwarzenegger said…

Break the rules, not the law, but break the rules. It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That’s what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?

You can’t succeed if you are being overly obedient and don’t want to try new things.

Think about it, all the great inventions happened because people are thinking out of the box and they are willing to do what is not ordinary.

When you stick to the rule, you are being limited by the rules. Everything you do becomes fixed and you will end up becoming like everyone else.

And for you transform from ordinary to extraordinary, you need to break the rules and take a different path.

In 1823, a football player named William Webb Ellis was tired of playing football. And so, he took the ball in his arms and ran with it. Thus, giving birth to a new sport called rugby.

This is how breaking the rules can give rise to something new. The same applies to you, your life, and the success you want.

If you do what most people are doing, you will end up becoming just like everybody else – average.

But if you want to achieve extraordinary success, you need to do something different. You need to take a new path and break the rules.

3. Be yourself

Yes, be yourself. You don’t have to try to be someone else to succeed in life. Just be yourself and let yourself shine.

Imagine if Steve Jobs was trying to be like everyone else, what do you think will happen? Perhaps, Apple won’t be such a huge success as it has today.

When you are not living in alignment with your values and beliefs, you will conform to other people’s expectations and ways of thinking. But when you know your values and beliefs, and you live life according to your own terms, you will start to shine with your own identity.

Just like what the famous martial artist and well-known actor Jackie Chan used to say, “I don’t want to be the next Bruce Lee. I just want to be the first Jackie Chan.”

You don’t have to be someone else. You just need to be yourself. And that means accepting your flaws and weaknesses. And shine where your strengths are.

Conclusion

Thus, do you know what separates the good, the average, and the great?

The one who becomes extraordinarily successful because they take a different path, they are a little eccentric, and they dare to break the rules and do something different. Besides, extraordinary people harness their weaknesses and use them as strengths.

If you want to learn more about the science of success, I suggest you read the book, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, written by Eric Barker. It is a great book I strongly recommend to all my readers. Get it.