Have You Already Settled for an Ordinary Career, or Do You Still Dream of the Unusual?
Jim Rohn is a name that not many people have heard of, but he has a famous quote that has inspired countless people all over the world.
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
It’s a quote that, on the surface, appears self-explanatory. If you’re not willing to jump out of your shell to do something unique or different, then you’ll end up settling for an ordinary life. However, there are many deep layers to this quote because it can apply to people in different ways. Some people that dream big might see those quote as inspiration to do something new in their respective industries. Someone that operates a simple food business might be inspired to cook up a new recipe, and someone in the music industry might take Jim Rohn’s quote and use it to start an entirely new genre of music.
Whatever people take from the iconic quote, it can only be used for good. Settling for the ordinary has many consequences, and it’s important to try new things whenever possible.
Breaking out of the comfort zone
One of the most common ways to break out of your shell is to step out of your comfort zone.This is a problem that many creative individuals have when their creativity stagnates. For instance, an up-and-coming artist may only draw characters in a portrait view. They are extremely comfortable with drawing figures up close, but they crumble under the pressure when asked to draw a profile view or a full-body picture. This severely hinders their creativity and can even prevent them from taking certain jobs because they just don’t feel comfortable enough.
This is a problem that is common with many different types of creative arts. The issue stems from becoming too comfortable with what you’re already good at, and it prevents you from challenging your skills by expanding your horizons. This kind of comfort zone applies to many different industries. For example, it’s common to see musical artists produce a variety of songs in various genres until they create one that is popular and becomes mainstream. That success tells the artist that the style of music they created is a big hit, so they’ll try to mimic that success by creating similar songs. This rarely works because, after a couple more releases, people find that the music will sound the same all in an attempt to replicate a past success.
While you may be comfortable with something now, it’s never a good idea to get too comfortable. If you’ve created a popular product and you’re using it to gain more mainstream popularity, then it’s normal to be reserved by only making small incremental changes to the product in order to respond to feedback. However, if you don’t take these chances, then eventually a competitor will come along and do things that you never dared to. There’s no telling if it will be a better or inferior product, but it does present a danger to you because they’re willing to step into unchartered waters.
As an underdog in business, it’s possible to shake up the entire industry. Large corporations have a lot on the line when they make large charges. If it’s not well-received, then it could cost a company a lot of money in damages. However, if the gamble pays off, then it can easily promote their business to new levels and help propel them into stardom. It’s difficult to create such a hit success especially if you’re a new startup or a small business, but it goes without saying that new ideas don’t come from the ordinary. You need to take risks and embrace the unusual if you want to stand out and grow an idea that no one has ever seen before.
In short, a comfort zone is something that needs to be avoided. No one wants to see their skills dull and no creative professional wants to be ridiculed for not being creative. Step out of your comfort zone, embrace the unusual and you’ll find that
Challenging the usual with the unusual
A decade ago, it would’ve been hard to believe that people could make money on YouTube. To many people, it was just a video sharing site where they could show off some fun videos or make gag clips for people to laugh at. However, as time passed, more and more people started to see the potential of such a large internet video-sharing platform, and thus the career of “YouTube Creator” was born. There are now people that make ludicrous sums of money from YouTube, and it’s done from a combination of YouTube revenue, affiliate links and even sponsorships.
It goes without saying that a YouTube career is still somewhat of a niche. There aren’t that many people in the world that could make it work, and while the amount of money a YouTuber makes is still up for debate, only a small percentage of YouTube users are making enough money. There are many factors that contribute to what makes YouTube content valuable, and it all depends on the advertisers that want to market their products. In short, people challenged the perception of YouTube and turned it into something that could make them large sums of money. The turned something that would’ve been ridiculed into a profitable business, and there are now countless people all over the world that are kicking themselves for not jumping on the YouTube bandwagon when it was still hot. Although it’s still possible to make a living from YouTube, it’s far more ordinary now and there is fierce competition, making it difficult to truly stand out.
But YouTube isn’t the only career path that has exploded in popularity. Let’s not forget that a decade ago, gaming would’ve been seen as a geeky pastime for people that had too much time on their hands. Gaming was shunned, and parents had this stigma against gaming that lead to an unhealthy misunderstanding of what games could and couldn’t do. Thankfully, that negativity is slowly subsiding and a new face of gaming has emerged: eSports.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play video games as a professional sport? Well, it’s already here and it’s already making players (and companies) millions. With global championships and sponsors from well-known organisations that you would see on soccer shirts, eSports is a thriving industry that is still being looked down upon by traditionalists.
But in the world of eSports, there are heroes that stand out and challenge the ordinary. Legendary retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal is currently one of the owners of NRG eSports, an electronic sports organisation that is based in California. Another retired basketball player, Rick Fox, founded one of the most prominent eSports organisations, Echo Fox, and has appeared on many different talk shows promoting gaming as a legitimate sport and not just a pastime. Many people have talked down to Rick Fox, explaining how gaming will never become a true sport. However, he’s done so much for the industry that he is said to be changing the future of eSports.
Although gaming may still be shunned by some, it’s undoubtedly becoming one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. The main argument is that gaming is not a real sport, but if even professional athletes are willing to appear on television to argue that point, then there’s a clear shift in mentality that is already taking place. Attention is growing, brands are exploding and the industry as a whole is seeing healthy growth. This is one of the cleanest examples of how challenging the ordinary with the unusual can be incredibly beneficial and create opportunities not just for yourself, but for everyone around the world.
Separating good advice from the crazy advice
In order to find the unusual, it helps to seek advice. People such as Joe Vitale are experts in positive thinking and enlightenment, which is why he can be trusted when it comes to receiving advice. Building up inspiration, confidence and creativity is all about reading and listening to others, but it’s also important to learn how to separate good advice from crazy advice.
That’s not to say that crazy advice is bad, however. As this whole article has already pointed out, it’s good to think crazy because it usually means you’re challenging the ordinary. No matter what preconceived notions you have on an industry or what your former employers used to tell you, doing something out of this world and completely different can have a huge impact on your future. It can open business opportunities, it can help you find new passions and it can even create an entirely new industry.
Whether you’re a business owner or employee, your career can be enhanced by thinking outside of the box and using good ideas instead of saving them and letting them rot. Good advice keeps you on a straight path and allows you to gain stability. Crazy advice, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to create something unique and chase your long-forgotten dreams.