Welcome to the Ad Caulk campfire. Tonight, Jeff is going to tell you one of his favorite stories. So everyone gather round and let's learn something together.
This story comes from a professor of mine. She told first to me when I stopped by her office, then to the entire class as a general anecdote. I thought it was brilliant and something everyone should hear.
This is the most important piece of advice my mother ever told me.
It's incredibly important for everyone to hear because it changes you life.
It certainly changed the way I looked at my life.
I was 14 years old and she said to me,
'Honey, you're a great girl. But you're not special.'
She said that I would have do things that make me special.
But there was nothing about me at the base level that made me different from anyone else.
That's why I worked hard.
Got my PHD.
And do everything I do today
Because I'm not special.
But i have done some great and special things.And you know what...none of you are special either
Now the lesson here isn't that no one can ever be special. People are noticed for doing extraordinary things every day.
But your expectation shouldn't be that everyone sees you as a special individual. Chances are, unless I have the people who read this pegged totally wrong, you're not a creative rock star. You're someone who has decent ideas but no one is tearing your book from the shelves of Amazon. (You're not there, yet, but keep working hard.) Someone a bit like myself.
The real benefit of this viewpoint comes from inside yourself. You stop expecting people to notice, and notice when they do.
NOTE: I told this story to a friend and she absolutely hated it. That's why I knew it was perfect for a post here. You might get offended too. If you do leave it in the comments or shoot me an email.
Also, are there campfires on the beach in Cannes? Because If so I totally want in. (sorry for bringing Cannes into this...)