I tweeted last week about a certain question I sometimes receive —
Q: You think I can go from high school ball to overseas while skipping college ball? A: No.
— Dre Baldwin (@DreAllDay) July 30, 2013
— And I got the expected responses: People pointing out to me the one person who did do it in the last 5 years.
Yeah. I know. And that’s the point. The 1 out of 500,000 who did it, makes you — the responder — much more average than exception.
I have talked about “average” before here. Average is what it is for a reason: Most people fit into the box. Funny thing about average is, very few people see themselves as being average.
Amongst those who do know they are part of the flock, beware their tricks. An average person may resent seeing someone aiming to be above average. The groupthink effect is a multiplier of these feelings — a bunch of average people will do what they can to make sure everyone in their orbit stays in the average box with them.
You may have to change your environment to fight the pull of the box. New friends, new communication, new thoughts.