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Actually, being extraordinary is something most people can do. Now, by definition that seems illogical. However, here me out. Most people tend to view extraordi

Actually, being extraordinary is something most people can do. Now, by definition that seems illogical. However, here me out. Most people tend to view extraordinary along a single dimension: really good at math, or really good at running. In this one-dimensional view, most people can't be extraordinary. However, you can be extraordinary in your own unique way. For example, running. You may not be the best runner, but you could have a lot of insight into running and a good writer at the same time, and thus be extraordinary at writing about running. If you take the entire sum of your own unique talents, and find a way to combine them properly, you can become extraordinary simply by finding a new way of looking at the world, even if the individual talents you have are not outstanding compared to others. Take programming as another example. You may be just a "good" programmer, a "good" teacher, but not necessarily outstanding at either. But maybe you have a third skill that will make you stand out when you are teaching programming. Maybe it's your sense of humour, or your ability to put people at ease, or even a talent for drawing that comes out when you draw diagrams. Being outstanding or extraordinary in my mind means combining everything you have to be inspiring, because the proximal/end result of extraordinary really is just that: having the ability to inspire. Sometimes one-dimensional measurements like amount of money or raw strength measure that, but sometimes they don't.

pm90 4y ago
Agreed. This is the same principle that is often given out as advice: excel at the intersection of fields rather than particular ones. The combinatorics generate a pretty ginormous space of possibilities to excel at even for 8 billion humans.
sakras 4y ago
Wow this is superb life advice, thank you! You’ve given me a lot of food for thought.
- huzaif 4y ago
  If you would like to put that advice to practice, this book will help. (The Art of impossible) https://www.amazon.com/Art-Impossible-Peak-Performance-Primer/dp/0062977539 https://www.amazon.com/Art-Impossible-Peak-Performance-Prime... It guides you through discovering your mix of passions and strengths to land on what you might make you uniquely extraordinary.
J-_-_b 4y ago
That's such an insightful post! That's also why I find it so interesting when people career swap into engineering. They have a whole lot of domain knowledge and alternative perspective that can be incredible valuable.
ZephyrBlu 4y ago
This is true, but it creates a new problem: you have to find your multi-dimensional thing, which is tends to be quite difficult.
- swaggyBoatswain 4y ago
  but thats the fun part
  - eyelidlessness 4y ago
    Most people deserve more fun
ironSkillet 4y ago
Well said. People and problems have a multidimensional nature. For me, one major key to finding happiness in work is finding an environment where the skills needed to solve problems is in high alignment with the two of three skills that you believe you're "good enough" in.
JadeNB 4y ago
> Actually, being extraordinary is something most people can do. I think that this isn't so different from the article's point, just phrased differently. But I also think it's worthwhile to remember that, while you can be extraordinary, you don't have to be. Giving someone permission just to enjoy something, without having to worry about whether they are extraordinary at it, is as important as reassuring them that they can be extraordinary.
amelius 4y ago
Conversely, by choosing the axes differently, Olympic gold medal winners become ordinary people. Also, being extraordinary in one thing (e.g. running) doesn't mean what people think it means because how many people actually try to become a professional runner? If everybody tried, Usain Bolt would be ranked #1000 or perhaps even lower.
- danenania 4y ago
  “If everybody tried, Usain Bolt would be ranked #1000 or perhaps even lower.” I’m skeptical. The people who do become professionals are heavily weighted towards the fastest runners. People naturally gravitate towards what they’re best at.
  - jamiek88 4y ago
    Yeah and running isn’t like say hockey where you need a load of equipment and a certain socioeconomic background to play. Literally every kid runs. Some are faster than others and some enjoy it more.
    - amelius 4y ago
      And some have older friends who are faster, and thus they give up and try something else.
  - trynewideas 4y ago
    As someone who follows soccer in the US, and specifically women's sports, there are some absolutely _fascinating_ reasons why that statement is way more complicated than it looks. There are so many factors — the means to access even rudimentary safe training and recovery, happenstance discovery by coaches or organizations, connections through friends and family — that leave me always wondering how many athletic talents simply don't pursue it. SI ran a fantastic story[1] about Naomi Girma, a top young talent who's already cemented a starting position on the US women's national team, the holding and four-time World Cup champions. Considering the size and depth of the US talent pool, itself massive due to the relative dearth of women's team sports and the accessibility fostered by Title IX, and likewise also rife with abuse and corruption, the USWNT is arguably one of the world's hardest soccer teams to become a starter for. Girma had none of the advantages of many of her teammates. She's Black, which is still uncommon on the USWNT and even less common among natural defenders. She's the daughter of an Ethiopian refugee and another Ethiopian immigrant, another rarity. She was discovered by a travel team — often difficult to join and expensive youth clubs — while playing at a YMCA, and stayed on a worse-performing team because she relied on getting rides from a friend's family on that team. When it was overwhelmingly evident that she belonged on the better team, the team itself covered her rides to practice because her parents couldn't — in part by a parent driving Girma to a private school for pickup. Her coach promoted a feeder program to the youth national teams to her, without which neither Girma nor her parents would have any idea what her ceiling would be. > “You know, my parents had no idea about the college recruiting process. They didn’t even know how to get me onto a club team. Even, like, what is AYSO? The concept of rec—all these little things—you have to learn that, and if you didn’t grow up here, why would you ever know what AYSO is? You’re not going to look that up. So I feel like a lot of things fell in place on my path because of the people I was surrounded by, and I’m extremely thankful for that, because I know I would probably just still be playing at the park on Saturdays—still having fun, but I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today.” She went on to get a full-ride scholarship to Stanford, won national championships, became a first-overall draft pick in the US pro NWSL, and started for a San Diego expansion team that went to the semifinals in its first year. Girma was Rookie of the Year. She's considered a lock for the 2023 World Cup roster, playing for the defending world champions. Her contemporaries as exciting young talents are in stark contrast: Sophia Smith, this year's league MVP and USWNT teammate, came up through a sports family where her mother, unlike Girma's, could afford to quit her job to cover the three-hour practice commute. She also had the advantages of a Colorado youth system that produced several other USWNTers.[2] Trinity Rodman is Dennis Rodman's daughter (itself a complex and fraught oversimplification of her relationship[3]). Olivia Moultrie's family was rich enough to build her a sophisticated practice facility, complete with her own pitch, as a pre-teen on her way to a Nike sponsorship and pro contract at 15.[4] But if Girma didn't have a friend on a youth team who's mom would give her a ride to practice? If, instead of a supportive coach, she had an abusive one?[5] By her own estimation, she might still be playing weekend ball in a park with her dad. Bolt's story is extremely well documented. But on top of the talent, and on top of the work to excel, to think there aren't hundreds of other kids out of billions with that same potential is difficult to reconcile. A faster kid, a better soccer player, a better wide receiver, a more clever pitcher might just not have a mom who can get them to practice. [1]: https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/06/29/naomi-girma-san-diego-wave-uswnt-daily-cover https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/06/29/naomi-girma-san-diego-w... [2]: https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-relationship-dad-dennis-rodman-rcna5075 https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-rela... [3]: https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-relationship-dad-dennis-rodman-rcna5075 https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-rela... [4]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/soccer-pro-olivia-moultrie-on-the-pursuit-of-goals https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/soccer-pro-olivia-moultrie... [5]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/08/rory-dames-eclipse-select-misconduct-allegations/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/08/rory-dames-...
yeahsure 4y ago
This comment reminded me of a video Tim Ferriss posted recently on Youtube which basically said something very similar: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kgO_Og-__HU https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kgO_Og-__HU Very insightful!
polishdude20 4y ago
I recently thought about this when I was thinking about my programing skills in my current job. I'm not the best programmer there by a long shot. I didn't grow up programming at the age of 10. I don't have a CS degree. But then I thought how nobody has the same experience as I do. I have a mixture of things I'm good at that make me unique and valuable.
- ilyt 4y ago
  Even with the single "job" like developer, putting out okay code that's well documented and tested is probably more valuable than just putting out very good code with barely any docs and tests. Especially if you add some social skill to figure out what exactly needs to be built instead of taking ticket comment at face value then figuring out author of request had something else in mind once it lands in test environment.
paulpauper 4y ago
The problem is even small niches can have ton of competition, and second, market share is too small.
lambdatronics 4y ago
With enough dimensions, everything is on the Pareto frontier: https://erikbern.com/2016/10/25/pareto-efficiency.htm https://erikbern.com/2016/10/25/pareto-efficiency.htm
- mtsolitary 4y ago
  The curse of dimensionality.
FollowingTheDao 4y ago
> However, you can be extraordinary in your own unique way. For example, running. You may not be the best runner, but you could have a lot of insight into running and a good writer at the same time, and thus be extraordinary at writing about running. Oh, my Lord, you type a people are just incredible. If everyone is extraordinary, no one is extraordinary. You’re only afraid to say this because saying it means that plenty of people will not be extraordinary and that kills not only their dreams but your dreams. Just because you want to put all that stress in your life, does not mean you have to put the stress on everybody else’s life. My shoes are
RajT88 4y ago
May I recommend the coffee table-ish book, "Be Amazing"
- _nivlac_ 4y ago
  Who is the author? A Google search for this title didn't narrow it down clearly for me. Cheers!
  - RajT88 4y ago
    Maggie Koerth-Baker
wanderingmind 4y ago
The sad reality is nobody gives an F, if you are competent across multiple dimensions. You can be a competent software engineer with a very good business sense. However, a better programmer than you is going to get the software engineer role and a better salesperson is going to get that sales role. You will be left to grinding in a org that treats you as a cost centre.
- wrigby 4y ago
  It's worth pointing out that a competent engineer with a good business sense is the exact formula for an exceptional sales engineer.
  - master_crab 4y ago
    And I'd say exactly what you need for a product manager too. And they tend to be the ones that make the key decisions in tech companies.
- baxtr 4y ago
  If your theory was correct we would live in a world run by specialists. But it’s actually generalists that thrive, start, scale and run successful companies. Specialist work for generalists.
  - selestify 4y ago
    * Certain kinds of generalists with skills at starting and running successful companies start and run successful companies The generalists that don’t have the particular intersection of skills to be CEO end up being outcompeted by specialists for specialized roles. See: poor wages and working conditions for unskilled workers, who certainly have skills outside of work, but no skills that matter enough in the economy to get specialized jobs
    - baxtr 4y ago
      Same is true for specialists. Only certain kinds of specialists will be paid highly. Picking something that is not only interesting to you but also needed by the market is generally a good idea if you want to earn money. Otherwise it’s just a hobby.
thefaux 4y ago
Being extraordinary is easier than just picking some random categorizations that you identify with and combining them. Just be yourself. There is no one else in the world like you. The odds of being you are less than one in eight billion. How's that for extraordinary? Of course, like most simple things, this is far easier said than done.
- WitCanStain 4y ago
  Being unique is not what people mean when they talk about being extraordinary, though. With that term comes the connotation of not just being different from others, but being _better_ than others.
  - thefaux 4y ago
    I understand that and am challenging that mindset. We are all seemingly in a hurry to diminish ourselves on the basis of external value judgments that are often arbitrary or unbalanced. Why do we value extraordinary athletes over extraordinary caretakers? If you are comparing yourself to others constantly, you are unlikely to reach your full potential, which is going to more or often than not inhibit you from being extraordinary in the conventional sense anyway.
- layer8 4y ago
  If everyone is extraordinary in that way, like unique snowflakes, then the only really extraordinary thing would be to not be extraordinary in that way. Any property that is true for all stops being a meaningful differentiator.
safety1st 4y ago
Frankly, being extraordinary -- in the dictionary sense of being exceptionally special and remarkable, let's say being in the top 1% -- is something of a young person's conceit. We all dream of making it to the top at one point or another. Nearly everyone fails to get there. Early in life other people will indulge your fixation on this because you're young, but most of them aren't extraordinary either, so as you age, their patience with it grows thin. If you cling to a fixation on being extraordinary it will ultimately isolate you and tear you apart psychologically. Fortunately there is an alternative which some discover as time passes. It is infinitely more powerful and useful than worrying about whether you're extraordinary or not, and will propel you to heights you never realized you could achieve. The alternative is to compare yourself today only to who you were yesterday, and focus on always pursuing new personal bests. By putting in the time and staying focused you can become uncannily good at almost anything this way. Far better than most people, and grinding out one little win at a time is surprisingly satisfying. Will it make you the best? I don't know. This tactic is surely some part of how the best got to where they are. I doubt I am the best at anything but I have not bothered to check. In the end it doesn't really matter, you are able to become great and be happy, and that is more than enough.
- d1sxeyes 4y ago
  I think this is kind of the point OP was making. You mention being in the top 1%—so now we have a definition of 'extraordinary'. Now look at your life through every facet. Are you really not in the top 1% of anything? 1% is not even that high a bar. You don't even have to be the best on your block to be in the top 1%. Or even tenth best on your block.[0] It could be anything that you're extraordinary at remember. Even if you want to limit it to creative pursuits, there are so many different musical instruments, art forms, styles of writing, types of dance, that with a bit of effort and specialisation, becoming 'extraordinary' is not that difficult, even before you start 'multiplying' skills (the best writer on running, the best ballroom dancing photographer, etc). [0]: https://vlesdesigns.com/blogs/facts/how-many-people-live-on-just-one-block-in-new-york https://vlesdesigns.com/blogs/facts/how-many-people-live-on-...
  - patcon 4y ago
nrao123 4y ago
This is similar to the Scott Adam's advise- which was great: https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/car... If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths: 1. Become the best at one specific thing. 2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things. The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try. The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not any funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funnier than most people. The magic is that few people can draw well and write jokes. It’s the combination of the two that makes what I do so rare. And when you add in my business background, suddenly I had a topic that few cartoonists could hope to understand without living it. I always advise young people to become good public speakers (top 25%). Anyone can do it with practice. If you add that talent to any other, suddenly you’re the boss of the people who have only one skill. Or get a degree in business on top of your engineering degree, law degree, medical degree, science degree, or whatever. Suddenly you’re in charge, or maybe you’re starting your own company using your combined knowledge. Capitalism rewards things that are both rare and valuable. You make yourself rare by combining two or more “pretty goods” until no one else has your mix. I didn’t spend much time with the script supervisor, but it was obvious that her verbal/writing skills were in the top tier as well as her people skills. I’m guessing she also has a high attention to detail, and perhaps a few other skills in the mix. Probably none of those skills are best in the world, but together they make a strong package. Apparently she’s been in high demand for decades.
mettamage 4y ago
Favorited, if I become famous for my amazing talent by combining 10 different things, it's your fault. I guess that's what you're extraordinary at, making super stars with just one comment ;-)
foldingmoney 4y ago
>If you take the entire sum of your own unique talents, and find a way to combine them properly, you can become extraordinary simply by finding a new way of looking at the world, even if the individual talents you have are not outstanding compared to others. maybe i'm too pessimistic in the opposite direction but this kind of argument always sounds like appealing nonsense to me. appealing because we'd like it to be true, and because the number of possible combinations is great enough that it's not immediately obvious that it isn't true. but in reality, skills don't generally exist in isolation, and as long as we're still attaching some kind of objective qualitative value to being 'extraordinary' beyond just being unique, most people who are mediocre at two things are not going to significantly exceed being mediocre at their combination, whereas people who are extraordinary at one thing are (in my experience) quite often at least near-extraordinary at a few others.
- ilyt 4y ago
  Only reason to be sad about not being "extraordinary" (not "just" good but better than most) is if that is stroking your ego. And this is just a mental trick to stroke ego more.
ilyt 4y ago
It's still just finding an unique way to stroke your ego in the end. I think learning to be happy without having to tell yourself "I'm better at this than other" all the time is overall healthier outlook. I get better coz if I'm doing something I might as well do it well, and for hobbies learning and getting better is just plain fun for me. All I get from looking at people better than me at thing is desire to plunder their knowledge and experience to be a bit better at it myself. And working with people better than me is just easier, as I have to worry only about my own fuckups, not someone's elses. Well, except people that can eat what they want and not get fat, that I do envy, but then that's not a skill to learn.

pm90 4y ago

Agreed. This is the same principle that is often given out as advice: excel at the intersection of fields rather than particular ones. The combinatorics generate a pretty ginormous space of possibilities to excel at even for 8 billion humans.

sakras 4y ago

Wow this is superb life advice, thank you! You’ve given me a lot of food for thought.

huzaif 4y ago
If you would like to put that advice to practice, this book will help. (The Art of impossible) https://www.amazon.com/Art-Impossible-Peak-Performance-Primer/dp/0062977539 https://www.amazon.com/Art-Impossible-Peak-Performance-Prime... It guides you through discovering your mix of passions and strengths to land on what you might make you uniquely extraordinary.

J-_-_b 4y ago

That's such an insightful post! That's also why I find it so interesting when people career swap into engineering. They have a whole lot of domain knowledge and alternative perspective that can be incredible valuable.

ZephyrBlu 4y ago

This is true, but it creates a new problem: you have to find your multi-dimensional thing, which is tends to be quite difficult.

swaggyBoatswain 4y ago
but thats the fun part
- eyelidlessness 4y ago
  Most people deserve more fun

ironSkillet 4y ago

Well said. People and problems have a multidimensional nature. For me, one major key to finding happiness in work is finding an environment where the skills needed to solve problems is in high alignment with the two of three skills that you believe you're "good enough" in.

JadeNB 4y ago

> Actually, being extraordinary is something most people can do. I think that this isn't so different from the article's point, just phrased differently. But I also think it's worthwhile to remember that, while you can be extraordinary, you don't have to be. Giving someone permission just to enjoy something, without having to worry about whether they are extraordinary at it, is as important as reassuring them that they can be extraordinary.

amelius 4y ago

Conversely, by choosing the axes differently, Olympic gold medal winners become ordinary people. Also, being extraordinary in one thing (e.g. running) doesn't mean what people think it means because how many people actually try to become a professional runner? If everybody tried, Usain Bolt would be ranked #1000 or perhaps even lower.

danenania 4y ago
“If everybody tried, Usain Bolt would be ranked #1000 or perhaps even lower.” I’m skeptical. The people who do become professionals are heavily weighted towards the fastest runners. People naturally gravitate towards what they’re best at.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Yeah and running isn’t like say hockey where you need a load of equipment and a certain socioeconomic background to play. Literally every kid runs. Some are faster than others and some enjoy it more.
  - amelius 4y ago
    And some have older friends who are faster, and thus they give up and try something else.
- trynewideas 4y ago
  As someone who follows soccer in the US, and specifically women's sports, there are some absolutely _fascinating_ reasons why that statement is way more complicated than it looks. There are so many factors — the means to access even rudimentary safe training and recovery, happenstance discovery by coaches or organizations, connections through friends and family — that leave me always wondering how many athletic talents simply don't pursue it. SI ran a fantastic story[1] about Naomi Girma, a top young talent who's already cemented a starting position on the US women's national team, the holding and four-time World Cup champions. Considering the size and depth of the US talent pool, itself massive due to the relative dearth of women's team sports and the accessibility fostered by Title IX, and likewise also rife with abuse and corruption, the USWNT is arguably one of the world's hardest soccer teams to become a starter for. Girma had none of the advantages of many of her teammates. She's Black, which is still uncommon on the USWNT and even less common among natural defenders. She's the daughter of an Ethiopian refugee and another Ethiopian immigrant, another rarity. She was discovered by a travel team — often difficult to join and expensive youth clubs — while playing at a YMCA, and stayed on a worse-performing team because she relied on getting rides from a friend's family on that team. When it was overwhelmingly evident that she belonged on the better team, the team itself covered her rides to practice because her parents couldn't — in part by a parent driving Girma to a private school for pickup. Her coach promoted a feeder program to the youth national teams to her, without which neither Girma nor her parents would have any idea what her ceiling would be. > “You know, my parents had no idea about the college recruiting process. They didn’t even know how to get me onto a club team. Even, like, what is AYSO? The concept of rec—all these little things—you have to learn that, and if you didn’t grow up here, why would you ever know what AYSO is? You’re not going to look that up. So I feel like a lot of things fell in place on my path because of the people I was surrounded by, and I’m extremely thankful for that, because I know I would probably just still be playing at the park on Saturdays—still having fun, but I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today.” She went on to get a full-ride scholarship to Stanford, won national championships, became a first-overall draft pick in the US pro NWSL, and started for a San Diego expansion team that went to the semifinals in its first year. Girma was Rookie of the Year. She's considered a lock for the 2023 World Cup roster, playing for the defending world champions. Her contemporaries as exciting young talents are in stark contrast: Sophia Smith, this year's league MVP and USWNT teammate, came up through a sports family where her mother, unlike Girma's, could afford to quit her job to cover the three-hour practice commute. She also had the advantages of a Colorado youth system that produced several other USWNTers.[2] Trinity Rodman is Dennis Rodman's daughter (itself a complex and fraught oversimplification of her relationship[3]). Olivia Moultrie's family was rich enough to build her a sophisticated practice facility, complete with her own pitch, as a pre-teen on her way to a Nike sponsorship and pro contract at 15.[4] But if Girma didn't have a friend on a youth team who's mom would give her a ride to practice? If, instead of a supportive coach, she had an abusive one?[5] By her own estimation, she might still be playing weekend ball in a park with her dad. Bolt's story is extremely well documented. But on top of the talent, and on top of the work to excel, to think there aren't hundreds of other kids out of billions with that same potential is difficult to reconcile. A faster kid, a better soccer player, a better wide receiver, a more clever pitcher might just not have a mom who can get them to practice. [1]: https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/06/29/naomi-girma-san-diego-wave-uswnt-daily-cover https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/06/29/naomi-girma-san-diego-w... [2]: https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-relationship-dad-dennis-rodman-rcna5075 https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-rela... [3]: https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-relationship-dad-dennis-rodman-rcna5075 https://www.today.com/parents/dads/trinity-rodman-opens-rela... [4]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/soccer-pro-olivia-moultrie-on-the-pursuit-of-goals https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/soccer-pro-olivia-moultrie... [5]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/08/rory-dames-eclipse-select-misconduct-allegations/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/02/08/rory-dames-...

yeahsure 4y ago

This comment reminded me of a video Tim Ferriss posted recently on Youtube which basically said something very similar: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kgO_Og-__HU https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kgO_Og-__HU Very insightful!

polishdude20 4y ago

I recently thought about this when I was thinking about my programing skills in my current job. I'm not the best programmer there by a long shot. I didn't grow up programming at the age of 10. I don't have a CS degree. But then I thought how nobody has the same experience as I do. I have a mixture of things I'm good at that make me unique and valuable.

ilyt 4y ago
Even with the single "job" like developer, putting out okay code that's well documented and tested is probably more valuable than just putting out very good code with barely any docs and tests. Especially if you add some social skill to figure out what exactly needs to be built instead of taking ticket comment at face value then figuring out author of request had something else in mind once it lands in test environment.

paulpauper 4y ago

The problem is even small niches can have ton of competition, and second, market share is too small.

lambdatronics 4y ago

With enough dimensions, everything is on the Pareto frontier: https://erikbern.com/2016/10/25/pareto-efficiency.htm https://erikbern.com/2016/10/25/pareto-efficiency.htm

mtsolitary 4y ago
The curse of dimensionality.

FollowingTheDao 4y ago

> However, you can be extraordinary in your own unique way. For example, running. You may not be the best runner, but you could have a lot of insight into running and a good writer at the same time, and thus be extraordinary at writing about running. Oh, my Lord, you type a people are just incredible. If everyone is extraordinary, no one is extraordinary. You’re only afraid to say this because saying it means that plenty of people will not be extraordinary and that kills not only their dreams but your dreams. Just because you want to put all that stress in your life, does not mean you have to put the stress on everybody else’s life. My shoes are

RajT88 4y ago

May I recommend the coffee table-ish book, "Be Amazing"

_nivlac_ 4y ago
Who is the author? A Google search for this title didn't narrow it down clearly for me. Cheers!
- RajT88 4y ago
  Maggie Koerth-Baker

wanderingmind 4y ago

The sad reality is nobody gives an F, if you are competent across multiple dimensions. You can be a competent software engineer with a very good business sense. However, a better programmer than you is going to get the software engineer role and a better salesperson is going to get that sales role. You will be left to grinding in a org that treats you as a cost centre.

wrigby 4y ago
It's worth pointing out that a competent engineer with a good business sense is the exact formula for an exceptional sales engineer.
- master_crab 4y ago
  And I'd say exactly what you need for a product manager too. And they tend to be the ones that make the key decisions in tech companies.
baxtr 4y ago
If your theory was correct we would live in a world run by specialists. But it’s actually generalists that thrive, start, scale and run successful companies. Specialist work for generalists.
- selestify 4y ago
  * Certain kinds of generalists with skills at starting and running successful companies start and run successful companies The generalists that don’t have the particular intersection of skills to be CEO end up being outcompeted by specialists for specialized roles. See: poor wages and working conditions for unskilled workers, who certainly have skills outside of work, but no skills that matter enough in the economy to get specialized jobs
  - baxtr 4y ago
    Same is true for specialists. Only certain kinds of specialists will be paid highly. Picking something that is not only interesting to you but also needed by the market is generally a good idea if you want to earn money. Otherwise it’s just a hobby.

thefaux 4y ago

Being extraordinary is easier than just picking some random categorizations that you identify with and combining them. Just be yourself. There is no one else in the world like you. The odds of being you are less than one in eight billion. How's that for extraordinary? Of course, like most simple things, this is far easier said than done.

WitCanStain 4y ago
Being unique is not what people mean when they talk about being extraordinary, though. With that term comes the connotation of not just being different from others, but being _better_ than others.
- thefaux 4y ago
  I understand that and am challenging that mindset. We are all seemingly in a hurry to diminish ourselves on the basis of external value judgments that are often arbitrary or unbalanced. Why do we value extraordinary athletes over extraordinary caretakers? If you are comparing yourself to others constantly, you are unlikely to reach your full potential, which is going to more or often than not inhibit you from being extraordinary in the conventional sense anyway.
layer8 4y ago
If everyone is extraordinary in that way, like unique snowflakes, then the only really extraordinary thing would be to not be extraordinary in that way. Any property that is true for all stops being a meaningful differentiator.

safety1st 4y ago

Frankly, being extraordinary -- in the dictionary sense of being exceptionally special and remarkable, let's say being in the top 1% -- is something of a young person's conceit. We all dream of making it to the top at one point or another. Nearly everyone fails to get there. Early in life other people will indulge your fixation on this because you're young, but most of them aren't extraordinary either, so as you age, their patience with it grows thin. If you cling to a fixation on being extraordinary it will ultimately isolate you and tear you apart psychologically. Fortunately there is an alternative which some discover as time passes. It is infinitely more powerful and useful than worrying about whether you're extraordinary or not, and will propel you to heights you never realized you could achieve. The alternative is to compare yourself today only to who you were yesterday, and focus on always pursuing new personal bests. By putting in the time and staying focused you can become uncannily good at almost anything this way. Far better than most people, and grinding out one little win at a time is surprisingly satisfying. Will it make you the best? I don't know. This tactic is surely some part of how the best got to where they are. I doubt I am the best at anything but I have not bothered to check. In the end it doesn't really matter, you are able to become great and be happy, and that is more than enough.

d1sxeyes 4y ago
I think this is kind of the point OP was making. You mention being in the top 1%—so now we have a definition of 'extraordinary'. Now look at your life through every facet. Are you really not in the top 1% of anything? 1% is not even that high a bar. You don't even have to be the best on your block to be in the top 1%. Or even tenth best on your block.[0] It could be anything that you're extraordinary at remember. Even if you want to limit it to creative pursuits, there are so many different musical instruments, art forms, styles of writing, types of dance, that with a bit of effort and specialisation, becoming 'extraordinary' is not that difficult, even before you start 'multiplying' skills (the best writer on running, the best ballroom dancing photographer, etc). [0]: https://vlesdesigns.com/blogs/facts/how-many-people-live-on-just-one-block-in-new-york https://vlesdesigns.com/blogs/facts/how-many-people-live-on-...
- patcon 4y ago

nrao123 4y ago

This is similar to the Scott Adam's advise- which was great: https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/car... If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths: 1. Become the best at one specific thing. 2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things. The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try. The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not any funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funnier than most people. The magic is that few people can draw well and write jokes. It’s the combination of the two that makes what I do so rare. And when you add in my business background, suddenly I had a topic that few cartoonists could hope to understand without living it. I always advise young people to become good public speakers (top 25%). Anyone can do it with practice. If you add that talent to any other, suddenly you’re the boss of the people who have only one skill. Or get a degree in business on top of your engineering degree, law degree, medical degree, science degree, or whatever. Suddenly you’re in charge, or maybe you’re starting your own company using your combined knowledge. Capitalism rewards things that are both rare and valuable. You make yourself rare by combining two or more “pretty goods” until no one else has your mix. I didn’t spend much time with the script supervisor, but it was obvious that her verbal/writing skills were in the top tier as well as her people skills. I’m guessing she also has a high attention to detail, and perhaps a few other skills in the mix. Probably none of those skills are best in the world, but together they make a strong package. Apparently she’s been in high demand for decades.

mettamage 4y ago

Favorited, if I become famous for my amazing talent by combining 10 different things, it's your fault. I guess that's what you're extraordinary at, making super stars with just one comment ;-)

foldingmoney 4y ago

>If you take the entire sum of your own unique talents, and find a way to combine them properly, you can become extraordinary simply by finding a new way of looking at the world, even if the individual talents you have are not outstanding compared to others. maybe i'm too pessimistic in the opposite direction but this kind of argument always sounds like appealing nonsense to me. appealing because we'd like it to be true, and because the number of possible combinations is great enough that it's not immediately obvious that it isn't true. but in reality, skills don't generally exist in isolation, and as long as we're still attaching some kind of objective qualitative value to being 'extraordinary' beyond just being unique, most people who are mediocre at two things are not going to significantly exceed being mediocre at their combination, whereas people who are extraordinary at one thing are (in my experience) quite often at least near-extraordinary at a few others.

ilyt 4y ago
Only reason to be sad about not being "extraordinary" (not "just" good but better than most) is if that is stroking your ego. And this is just a mental trick to stroke ego more.

ilyt 4y ago

It's still just finding an unique way to stroke your ego in the end. I think learning to be happy without having to tell yourself "I'm better at this than other" all the time is overall healthier outlook. I get better coz if I'm doing something I might as well do it well, and for hobbies learning and getting better is just plain fun for me. All I get from looking at people better than me at thing is desire to plunder their knowledge and experience to be a bit better at it myself. And working with people better than me is just easier, as I have to worry only about my own fuckups, not someone's elses. Well, except people that can eat what they want and not get fat, that I do envy, but then that's not a skill to learn.