My first thought was “people don’t choose to be mediocre.” But I was wrong. By not choosing to be extraordinary, one chooses to be average.
Being average is to be the winner of the losers. It can be comfortable. By not choosing to be great, one eliminates the disappointments that inevitably come from striving greatly and falling short of one’s expectations.
By not choosing to work hard to learn the clients business, one is choosing to compete on price. By not choosing to create and add value, one is choosing to allow themselves to be sellers of commodities. By not choosing to race for the top, one chooses to join the race for the bottom.
When I was sixteen, I started working for a local megastore, Meijer, as a bagger and what-ever-needed-to-be-done person. My mother preached to me before my first day about the need to always give 100%. “If you aren’t working and giving your best, you are STEALING!” she exclaimed. “They are paying you for what you can give them. Don’t be a thief!” Yeah, my mom was that way.
Now that we work for ourselves, that lesson still holds true. Except, now we’re stealing from ourselves when we choose to be less than what we are meant to be. We were meant to be great.
Push yourself to the edges of your comfort zone. That’s where the good stuff is to be had. That is where you discover your full potential and your purpose.
Your customers, clients and prospects recognize greatness. Great champions choose to work harder, longer and to always get better. Choose carefully.
Paul Kiewiet MAS+ is an industry speaker, writer, consultant and coach. He serves as the executive director of MiPPA. Kiewiet was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame and the MiPPA Hall of Fame. He served as Chairman of PPAI in 2007. A former distributor, he founded Promotion Concepts, Inc in 1982 and worked with some of America’s most valuable brands including Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, and Whirlpool.