I am having a Robert Frost moment.  

You know, one of those “two roads diverged in a wood, and I,  I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” type of moments.  However, in this case I find myself almost yearning for only two roads!  Not the 4 I must choose between.

Ever been there?

Of course you have.  We all have.  We all make choices every day that propel us towards greatness or cause us to shrink into mediocrity.

Ever been great?  Ever been the greatest?

Ever been mediocre?  Barely there? Unnoticeable?

The choice is ours of course.  Greatness.  Excellence…OR… Average. The good-but-nothing-special ordeal.  Here is my advice: When faced with a choice…choose greatness!  Choose that which you can be the greatest in the world at.  Deny mediocrity!  Make little decisions every day that propel you towards great endeavors and adventures and challenges.

Still not buying the choose greatness, being average is overrated plea?  Here is an in-your-face passage from Seth Godin’s book The Dip.  This book puts things into greater perspective, and, along with a lot of sincere prayer, helps make the decision making process that much simpler.

The next time you catch yourself being average when you feel like quitting, realize that you have only two good choices: Quit or be exceptional.  Average is for losers.

Am I being too harsh? Isn’t your time and your effort and your career and your reputation too valuable to squander on just being average?  Average feels safe, but it’s not.  It’s invisible.  It’s the last choice–the path of least resistance. The temptation to be average is just another kind of quitting…the kind to be avoided.  You deserve better than average.

-Seth Godin, The Dip

Think about it.  Help a lot of people.  Choose greatness.

In our striving, we often look to the outside, to that which we can learn or gather or purchase in order to improve whatever aspect of our life that we are attempting to improve. This is GREAT (most of the time)!  However, many of the best entrepreneurs and leaders of our time have simply taken a deeper look inward for their greatest visionary concepts.

If you are looking for a way to generate capital, run through a mental checklist of what it is that you do well.  What are you already talented at? What gifts do you have that can be used to provide a service? Are your talents or skills a product?  Is your natural ability a sell-able service? Do a self-evaluation, be honest with yourself, and don’t sell yourself short. A lot of what you are already great at can be used to help others and at the same time help yourself.  Do not miss the obvious.  Do not miss out on capitalizing on that which you are already great at.