Become Extraordinary (part 2 of 3)
My last couple of posts focused on why some people become extraordinary while most of us do not. What’s their secret? How can you become extraordinary too?
If you want to be extraordinary, you must do extra – ordinary things with your time and energy.
In this post I will focus on the second simple way to becoming extraordinary...
2. Commit yourself to a cause or purpose that is intimately important to you:
My last couple of posts focused on why some people become extraordinary while most of us do not. What’s their secret? How can you become extraordinary too?
If you want to be extraordinary, you must do extra – ordinary things with your time and energy.
In this post I will focus on the second simple way to becoming extraordinary...
2. Commit yourself to a cause or purpose that is intimately important to you:
Is there a cause, such as a charity, non-profit organization, or unmet need that you believe in enough to support with your time, energy, and/or resources?
Given the wide range of ways in which to give – whether it’s to the benefit of children, healthcare, poverty, environment, animals, community, education, economy, peace, politics, religion – or whatever the cause, there is a perfect match for you, your interests and values!
What does volunteering my time and energy have to do with being extraordinary?
This is an interesting question, and, in my opinion, another one of life’s mysteries. I describe it as the universal law of reciprocity – which is another way of saying, “What goes around, comes around.”
Ultimately your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind. Almost all cultures and religions have a way to define this phenomenon –making it universal in nature.
Given the wide range of ways in which to give – whether it’s to the benefit of children, healthcare, poverty, environment, animals, community, education, economy, peace, politics, religion – or whatever the cause, there is a perfect match for you, your interests and values!
What does volunteering my time and energy have to do with being extraordinary?
This is an interesting question, and, in my opinion, another one of life’s mysteries. I describe it as the universal law of reciprocity – which is another way of saying, “What goes around, comes around.”
Ultimately your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind. Almost all cultures and religions have a way to define this phenomenon –making it universal in nature.
Volunteering some of your free time toward a selfless cause or purpose will provide extraordinary results over time!
There are some practical benefits to you for volunteering, but the life-changing benefits are not as easily defined.
The positive difference you will make in the lives of others will be immeasurable as those results multiply in their effects with the passage of time.
While you may never know the exact outcome of your efforts, those benefits will reflect back on you—if in no other way than through improvements in your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Please do not underestimate the power of this one benefit alone! Additionally, do not underestimate the power to improve the lives of others with your individual actions, however small they may seem to you at the time!
There are some practical benefits to you for volunteering, but the life-changing benefits are not as easily defined.
The positive difference you will make in the lives of others will be immeasurable as those results multiply in their effects with the passage of time.
While you may never know the exact outcome of your efforts, those benefits will reflect back on you—if in no other way than through improvements in your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Please do not underestimate the power of this one benefit alone! Additionally, do not underestimate the power to improve the lives of others with your individual actions, however small they may seem to you at the time!
If you are like me, you’re thinking, “This sounds good –but I don’t know what to do or how to get started.” “On top of that, every other time I signed up to volunteer for something, I didn’t really like it that much.”
I understand where you’re coming from.
Before I made the time to discover several causes that were important to me, and then matched the exact ways in which I could best volunteer my time and resources, I felt the same way!
What ordinarily happens to most of us is we end up donating money or volunteering for various charities because we either feel obligated to the person asking us for our support, or guilty for not contributing to a worthy sounding cause.
Paradoxically, these contributions, that are lacking our personal commitment and passion, create insignificant value for anyone—especially us. What meaning does this create in your life? Do you think it activates the universal law of reciprocity? Of course not! It’s more likely to activate your feelings of resentment toward those causes—creating a negative feedback loop for you!
I understand where you’re coming from.
Before I made the time to discover several causes that were important to me, and then matched the exact ways in which I could best volunteer my time and resources, I felt the same way!
What ordinarily happens to most of us is we end up donating money or volunteering for various charities because we either feel obligated to the person asking us for our support, or guilty for not contributing to a worthy sounding cause.
Paradoxically, these contributions, that are lacking our personal commitment and passion, create insignificant value for anyone—especially us. What meaning does this create in your life? Do you think it activates the universal law of reciprocity? Of course not! It’s more likely to activate your feelings of resentment toward those causes—creating a negative feedback loop for you!
Extraordinary people commit themselves to the causes that are truly important to them. You can too!
Your idea doesn’t have to be popular, or polarizing, or even remotely connected to your career or industry. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be the next United Way!
Maybe you just set out to help a few families in your local community? Perhaps there is an unmet need at the local school? The number of volunteer ideas for you to explore are endless and limited only to your imagination.
The key to unlocking the secrets of extraordinary results for you, and those you intend to serve, is to choose something that YOU truly believe in—and to contribute in the ways that YOU enjoy doing. Once you make this important self-discovery—take action by getting started!
What could be a better use of your time than spending it on something you enjoy doing for something you believe in anyway?
Think about it.
Why use up ALL of your valuable time and energy on ordinary pursuits when you can dedicate some of your time to extra-ordinary efforts and activities?
Stay tuned for the third, and final simple way to becoming extraordinary…
Your idea doesn’t have to be popular, or polarizing, or even remotely connected to your career or industry. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be the next United Way!
Maybe you just set out to help a few families in your local community? Perhaps there is an unmet need at the local school? The number of volunteer ideas for you to explore are endless and limited only to your imagination.
The key to unlocking the secrets of extraordinary results for you, and those you intend to serve, is to choose something that YOU truly believe in—and to contribute in the ways that YOU enjoy doing. Once you make this important self-discovery—take action by getting started!
What could be a better use of your time than spending it on something you enjoy doing for something you believe in anyway?
Think about it.
Why use up ALL of your valuable time and energy on ordinary pursuits when you can dedicate some of your time to extra-ordinary efforts and activities?
Stay tuned for the third, and final simple way to becoming extraordinary…
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