Follow Your Own Path

How Being Unique Leads to Extraordinary Results

Hello all,

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect” - Mark Twain

Do You Want To Be Normal?

It is a simple equation, average people live average lives, unique people live unique lives.

When I train with a friend of mine at the gym, he often asks himself before a difficult set “Do you want to be normal?”

He understands if he can push through the short-term pain and discomfort that comes with the struggle or lifting heavy weight, then overtime he will achieve extraordinary physical results.

However, if he never went to the gym in the first place, like most people, he would not achieve these results, and unsurprisingly end up like most people.

Reflect upon your own life, what do you do that is just normal? Do you do anything that is out of the ordinary? Anything that the average person would think is weird?

Most importantly ask yourself, am I doing things because everyone else is doing them?

This isn’t the normality of going to work or university, but rather the normality of your actions at these places.

If you are just living the normal student life, or completing average work as an employee, then how would these ever yield to exceptional results in your life?

Unique people sacrifice things the average person won’t sacrifice, unique people make decisions the average person won’t make, unique people take risks the average person won’t take.

Ask yourself sometimes, do you want to be normal?

The Lonely Chapter:

Upon this unclear yet exciting path of self-development, you will realise there are not many people on this path with you. They are on the normal path.

A large period of time on this path can be lonely, as you are no longer relatable to and don’t complete the same actions as the people on the normal path, but you are not yet ‘successful’ or ‘developed’ enough to find enough people with the same unique values as you. This is known as the lonely chapter.

Now, the lonely chapter won’t always be that lonely. You may find close friends who share your ‘odd’ mindset, I have been one of these lucky ones. I was lucky enough to end up in the same block at university halls with a few people who are on their now similar path, and I am very of appreciative of this.

However, this lonely chapter still very much exists for me. It is just a necessary part of the process unless you wish to return to the life of normality.

What Fulfils You?

So far, I have taken a selfish perspective to this. However it is important to recognise that many people are perfectly satisfied and fulfilled with a normal life, and that’s fine.

It is extremely positive to recognise and learn what is enough to fulfil oneself, an answer that I have not yet discovered for myself. If you have found that you are fulfilled by living a normal life then that is great, I wish you the best living a peaceful and stressed-minimised life.

However, if the call not to be normal and achieve extraordinary results excites you, then you are like me. The lonely chapter, and all the other negative consequences are simply sacrifices we have to make in order to chase the fulfilment of our long-term goals.

Deep down, I believe most of us are like this, but the stability and comfort or normality constrains our desires to truly recognise it.

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Although, something I wish to become more normal is reading this newsletter so if you could help that by sharing with friends and family that would be highly appreciated.

Thank you and have a great week,

Spencer