What's the Most-Populated Continent?

The largest and most populated continent on the planet is not actually Asia. It’s called Average.

Our planet has more than 7.5 billion people. But the vast majority of them reside on Average — where average schools, average jobs, average salaries and average conversations ultimately equate to average and unremarkable lives.

Many of us simply accept the societal norms and beliefs on Average, choosing not to mentally riot against the laws and traditions that dictate life there. As long as people and society can build fences around us, they can keep us where they want — stuck on average.

But if we want to distinguish ourselves as leaders and as positive-difference makers — ultimately leaving lasting legacies — we need to migrate off this gigantic land mass as soon as we can. There are 4 pathways that will help get us out:

1. Read more than we think we should. According to a recent study by the interactive publisher Vervesearch, the average length of a New York Times best-seller is about 400 pages. If we set a goal of reading 50 pages per day, we can get through more than 45 books in a year. The typical person reads just 12. Think about that. By allocating just about one hour each day to reading, we can finish almost four times as many books as the average person annually.

2. Make ourselves experts in two or three categories. We live in a world where people can speak broadly about a number of topics. We need to become experts in two or three, though. What will we know better than 99 percent of people out there and actually be able to speak about as authorities? We don’t have to master everything. But we need to have some specialties where we can elevate the level of discussion and thus inspire others to do the same.

3. Have a strategic life plan. “Where do you want to be in one year? In five years? In 10 years?” Can we quickly provide concrete answers to these questions? There’s no shame if the current answer is no. But if we want to distinguish ourselves and flee the land of Average, we need a map and a destination. Being able to answer these questions strategically will at least let us know where we’re headed. A recent study said that less than 2 percent of our world lives strategically each day. Having tangible future plans will help get us off of Average.

4. Identify what we want to be known for. Can we in one sentence say what we want to be known for? The answer probably changes throughout life. When we’re young, we just want to be known as cool or smart or athletic. But as we grow older, our self-image changes and so do our priorities. Do we want to be known for being famous? Do we want to be known for being the winningest coach, the most successful boss, the most doting mom or dad? Do we want to be known for being rich? The point here isn’t to make us feel guilty. But if we don’t know what our “Why” is and what we want to be known for, then we’re really just going through the motions, drifting on Average with no way out.

We all get complacent at times, settling for comfortable and familiar instead of maverick and transcendent. But if we want to be different and lead lives of true purpose and meaning, we need to flee the increasingly-crowded continent of Average as fast as we can. And we need to know our destination.

Be safe. Be alive. Be uncommon!

P.S. If you are in search of a book recommendation, our team at The Daily Coach highly recommends Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. This book shows us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

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