david suzuki writes


the world is full of average


David Suzuki discusses the key to success, and the commitments it takes to get there.


A good friend of mine that I see and speak with frequently is nothing short of amazing. He is full of energy, always smiling, and seemingly two to three steps ahead of everything and everybody around him.


He is inspired by a challenge and lives to “compete” as he describes it; regardless of whether it is business, sports, or detailing his car. Without a doubt this man views life through the lens of the glass half full. He inspires me, and the world around him. One day I asked him how he does it, and how he is always so amazing. His answer was short and simple, “It’s easy, because the world is full of average.”


I think about this statement every day, and apply it to everything I do, whether it be working out, my business, or my personal


life. You can interpret the meaning in many different ways, but in short it means that there are very few that go above and beyond the norm to achieve excellence. Those that do reveal themselves as champions as athletes, musicians, mathematicians, parents, and citizens of the world. Going above and beyond, as the saying goes, allows you to excel above the norm in every spectrum in which you apply this rule. This is what makes a select few just that much better. It makes the difference between first place and fifth place, and in many cases the difference between success and failure.


immigrant success


Maybe this is the reason why historically that first generation immigrants to the United States succeed at an unprecedented rate. They enter a society where the norm works 40 hours per week, takes two weeks of vacation each year where they spend 15- 20% of their annual income living, and have hobbies and habits that absorb the


remainder. Considering this model, how on earth would they get ahead? First generation immigrants to the United States see the glass half full. They see opportunity; opportunity that the norm ignores and takes for granted. They work their eight hours per day, and work a second job for another eight hours. They spend no money on vacation or hobbies, because their work schedule does not allow for either. At the end of each year who do you think is progressing faster, the immigrant or the norm? And imagine what that looks like over the course of 10-20 years.


the passion of mastery


In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell dissects the epicentre of mastery and establishes that mastery in itself belongs to those who are willing to put in the time. He goes on to establish the pattern of mastery that exists in the most successful athletes, musicians, scholars and businessmen, and their commonality of the 10,000 hour rule. He hypothesises that if you are willing to put in 10,000 hours that you can become an expert at anything. I believe this whole heartedly.


“Success is a choice, not a lucky bolt of lightning. It requires commitment, hard work, and diligence.”


Image ©iStock.com/BONNINSTUDIO


Doing the math, a full time occupation will bring you into mastery in roughly five years. Those that are doubling up on their efforts can make this transformation in slightly over two years. If you are working more than you are spending, the gains can be realised even more expeditiously. In the end then by this rationale, regardless of whether you do it in two years or eight, everyone should be a master at something, right? There is one caveat to the rule of 10,000 in that you have to be passionate about what you do and have clear objectives that lead you to your destination. If you are not and do not, the time spent is aimless and will only contribute to becoming a master at mediocrity. Passionate individuals and businesses are internally driven. The more that they apply themselves, the quicker they


GUILD NEWS 89


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