A lot of people are very comfortable being normal.

They want to blend, to fit in.

They want to follow the script.

They want to do things the ways others have been doing it.

Bu the question that has always agitated my mind is, why be normal?

The reason is because being normal has never changed any damn thing.

I learned something important on my way growing up.

For you to be seen and recognize, you must not follow the script, rather you have to tear it and write your own script.

For you to be seen and be recognized, you must not try to fit into the mold created by someone else.

This may sound crazy but it works.

I remember some years back when I went to Murtala Nyako when he was the governor of Adamawa State.

When I walked into his office reception, there were about 20 other people gorgeously dressed and waiting to see him.

I sat down on one of the chairs and joined in the waiting.

Some long minutes later, he walked in and everybody in the reception stood up to welcome him but I remain seated.

The governor and every other person turned towards me to see who the hell was sitting down whilst the governor was making his triumphant entrance.

The governor recognized me, smiled and said,

“This igbo man so, you’re here already!”

He came and led me by the hand and we walked into his office.

I knew that those who came before me must be swearing in their mind, but I have reached a point where other peoples’ opinions don’t really matter to me anymore.

If I had wanted to be normal, I would have waited all day before I would see the governor.

But that is not who I am.

I am not here to shrink to be accepted.

That is how it also works in business.

You don’t go into business to be normal.

By being normal, I mean going into business to blend, to fit in or to do what other people are doing.

If you do that, ‘all eyes would never turn towards you to see who the hell’ that has come into the business space.

So, you have to force that and the only way to do it is by doing something different.

You have to come in with a ‘new wine’ that must be better than the old.

It could be an idea that you copied from what is already in existence and then innovated or improved on.

The reason why this is very important is because if you go into a business and start doing what other people in the business are doing, you would just be counting the time instead of making the time count.

Let me explain. If you go into business and start doing what every other person is doing, there would be no reason for the customers of your competitors to come to you because you have nothing new to offer to them.

So, before going into any business, you have to first of all study the players and their products and then ask yourself, what difference would you make in the business.

If you cannot answer the question, it means you are going to be normal in the business.

It means you’re going to mark time in the business.

It means you are going to play, ‘follow the leader’ and once you’re doing that, success would be your distant relative.

But if you want to make impact, your entrance into the business must shift things because when what you bring into the business creates impacts, you’re not just participating in the business anymore, you are leading.

So, to succeed fast in any business, your product must make a mark in the market place, your product must echo and you have to do that without taking permission from anybody.

In fact, let them see you as a renegade or somebody who staged industrial coup detat.

So, refusing to be normal simply means you are not satisfied with average effort, average result and average potential.

It means you are willing to push yourself to uncomfortable places where most people quit.

It means you have choosing growth over excuses, discipline over distraction and purpose over popularity.

There is no doubt that anyone can be normal.

In Fact, the easiest thing to be in the world is to be normal

But to be the best that means ignoring the limits other people try to put on you.

It requires waking up every day and saying, I will not waste what I am capable of.

It means waking up every day and telling yourself, “I don’t want to be normal, I want to be impactful. I want to be different. I want to be the one who show others what is possible.”

The truth Is, when you stop shrinking yourself, you start believing in the power you already have, because when you are driven by purpose you operate with confidence.

When you aim for impact, you don’t just become better, you become the best version of yourself and that is when you become unstoppable.

•Peter Anosike has a Ph.D in Consulting and Profit Management. He is an international bestselling author and founder, Ultimate Entrepreneurs Academy, an organisation that trains college students, under graduates and even workers on how to become successful entrepreneurs. Google Anosike Peter for some of his bestselling books.

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