You Are Not Exceptional

You are not exceptional. Which means you are capable of everything you want to accomplish and more. Wait, what? You are NOT exceptional, and THAT means your dreams are there for the taking? I am not exceptional either, which puts me in the perfect position to live the life I want. How does that work?

Let me back up. As you may know, I recently left a very good, prestigious, and reasonably secure job. I was working with people I liked and making decent money. However, I also knew that I wanted to make a change, and the time would never be better for me. Even though I have the energy, drive, and health of someone many years younger, my dream of becoming a well-known and wealthy public speaking figure, author, and public personality was only going to get harder.

For additional context, while I had a good job, I also was on the tail end of life challenges that left me too few financial resources to even consider retiring. I have a special-needs son who will need support long after I am gone. So I need to think about earning two retirements. The traditional thinking would have been to hunker down, go on a radical savings and low-spending regimen and gradually build a modest financial portfolio. This was certainly an option and might have been wise.

Another element that informed my decision to act now has been the last two years that I have been presiding over my father’s health decline. He’s now in his final months of hospice care. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to spend time with a great guy, and it has reminded me that every breath is a gift. At some point, I’ll be dead whether I shoot for my goals or not. I now understand that the expression “time is money” is a big, fat lie. Time is not money. Time is life. Time is breath. With that realization guiding me, there was no way I could continue serving corporate masters, even though they were and are perfectly fine people.

Speaking of savings, I could stretch them out for a year or so, but I’m building an empire. I’ve hired people to help me bootstrap Jason Martin Presents. We’re building an astonishing success and foresee a cash flow positive before the end of the year. I’m applying everything I’ve learned and continue to learn to creating coaching and training programs to help others like myself. Others who are afraid that their chance at realizing their dreams will never be better. I’ve been on the inside of giant organizations. I know the toll it takes on people with dreams. I also know how unlikely it is that “change from within” will give my fellow dreamers the opportunities they want.

So, my work is to help people make decisions that keep them relevant and engaged in their careers, especially if they feel like they don’t fit where they are now. You have probably managed multiple sets of obligations for a long time and have mostly done it well, even admirably. Now you are looking to your own fulfillment and paying something forward in the process. For some of you that also means making lots of money, for others it means a new challenge, but you are all itching for change that speaks to who you are as unique human beings. I am here so you don’t die feeling like you could have done more.

How does all of this relate to not being exceptional? Much of my courage stems from the realization that other people with similar talents, experiences, skills, challenges, resources, and constraints are already doing what I want to do. I am not different, or exceptional, in any way that says, “I can’t do this.” Another way of saying this is, “I have no excuse NOT to do this.”

So, no. I’m not exceptional, and that’s WHY I know I can do extraordinary things.

I believe the same is true for you.