Be Remarkable

Look at the Taj Mahal. This monument has not only changed forever the importance of the city of Agra, but it has also become the hallmark of an entire nation. 377 years have passed from the time that this monument was built, but even today it is officially considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World . Ever wondered why ? because it is- remarkable.

What is the most common thing that you find in this world ? It is mediocrity. So, what is mediocrity, mediocrity is being average. Now one thing you must get it straight - Mediocrity is for losers. And the reason that mediocrity is for losers is that if you are given a choice of 5 places to have lunch, will you choose a mediocre restaurant?, if you are given a choice of 5 people to hire, will you settle for the mediocre candidate?, if you are given a choice of 5 movies to watch will you watch a mediocre movie? The answer to all these questions is No. Why, because we are always looking for the best, we look for something remarkable.

Imagine you are in Doha like me & you are driving down the corniche road, and you see a date tree, what will be your reaction? "Hey!!...Look a date tree!!" . How many of you will react this way –Nobody. Why? because a date tree is a common sight in Doha. A date tree is as good as invisible.

But if the date tree had purple leaves (considering that this colour ihas become so popular after the US elections), now what would be your reaction? Yes surely you would notice it. So the point is, that the deciding factor about what gets built, what gets changed, what gets done, what gets sold, what gets purchased, what gets talked about is- is it remarkable?

Let's take another example. Have a look at Google’s home page & the have a look at Yahoo’s home page. Is there any difference? Yahoo has exactly 152 links on the same page & Google hardly has a few distracting links. Now why do we go to a search engine? To search – right. And Google helps you to do exactly what you came to do – to search. So it is not surprising that Google is the number one search engine in the world today. Google decided long ago not to be mediocre, not to be average, it decided to stand out from the crowd, it decided to be remarkable.

So how can we be remarkable? It’s very easy. What we have to do is simply refuse to settle for mediocre, refuse to settle for run of the mill, refuse to settle for second rate stuff.

There are 2 things to remember

No 1. Don’t be safe. If you always play safe you will remain what you are now, average. Go ahead, take a risk, remember the old saying, no pain no gain.

No 2. Very good is bad. Every body these days is very good, you have very good architects, you have very good doctors and you have very good toastmasters, so if you are looking for very good they can be bought for a dime a dozen. The need of the hour is not very good, the need of the hour is something that is remarkable.

So what have you decided, will you be remarkable?