Are you exceptional ?

Chances are, you are.

If you feel you aren't, think again.

Are you saying to yourself things like :

• I'm ugly : in business, who cares ? In life, it shouldn't matter either, but that's a subject for another article
• I'm lazy : what are you doing here ?
• I'm no good : that statement defies common sense
• I will be rejected : yep, that will happen, but not everyone will
• I will be ridiculed : not as often as you think, even better, some people will appreciate that you express things they were afraid of saying
• I don't have time : watch less TV, stop social not working
• I'm not good at writing, drawing, sports : is there anyone who is good at all three ? My 8-year-old twins draw as good as me, they are way better at sports, I wouldn't dare say I'm a good writer, still, if you reached this point, I'm not that bad, uh ?
• I can't speak in public : develop that skill, it will do wonders for you, in business and dating :)

Well, you get the idea.

If you ARE exceptional at something :

• World class athlete : steroids destroy health, if it's not steroids, think what happens to Olympic runners who have trained for years and fall in that one chance at a gold medal, one more thing, some athletes fall into depression when they can't follow the newest hot shots
• Hollywood actress : bold, beautiful, 18-bathroom house, paparazzis, few people reach that status, some are despised when they become has beens
• Pulitzer Prize journalist : what's the name of the last one who won the prize ? Nah, can't remember either
• What team won the Superbowl in 1994 ? 1982 ? 2005 ? Not important, right ?
• Who discovered planet Neptune by doing calculations ? He never checked the sky, even after it was confirmed by observations from other astronomers, he KNEW it was there, he didn't feel the need to see it
• The SECOND man on the moon : now that IS exceptional, too, but we remember better the phrase "Houston, we have a problem", or the shuttle exploding in the sky in front of our eyes

Find out what you are good at.

One last thing, if you believe you need all the information before you start, to make sure you make no mistakes, remember the following anecdote, read in the classic "Thinking and Grow Rich", IIRC.

It's not a word for word excerpt from the book.

Henry Ford, the famous business from the beginning of the 20th century, founder of Ford, the car manufacturer, was sitting in a room. There were people asking him all kinds of questions, things like :

• What is the highest mountain in America ?
  
• What city has the biggest population ?

etc...

At one point, he got tired, and said :

"Listen, I can't answer any of your questions, but give me 5 minutes, I'll find someone who can !"

Forget about wanting to become Einstein, Luke Skywalker or Usain Bolt.

Let's all become Henry Fords. :)