Here is a line from the movie Sister Act II, starring Whoopi Goldberg, which served as a motivation for me to thrive in life; “If you want to be somebody, and you want go somewhere… you better wake up and pay attention.”

There is a very large class of people in society that you want to stay as far away from their influence as possible unless you want to be a part of them. Whether you heard of this group or not, the most important thing about this group is that you do not want to be a part of it. People in this group are not necessarily bad people, but if anyone from this group has your undivided attention, they may be a deterrent to your progress. This consortium of people is commonly known as ‘The Average 90.’ This is a group of people who may be stuck in a box without any desire or passion to break out of it. They avoid risk, abandon conflict, and run from any challenge that requires more than a mediocre effort.

Are you the kind of person who will give that little extra to achieve more than what the average person can accomplish? Average people live in the shadow of excellence—always admiring the achievements of others who are not as gifted, but apparently more daring. You don’t have to be the smartest or strongest person to achieve greatness. Have you noticed that the cleverest people in school are usually not those who are the most successful or who leave their mark on life? If you want to be better than what you presently are, you must do things differently or better than others whose standard is ‘just enough to get by’.

Aim beyond what you think you are capable of achieving. Challenge yourself to develop a total disregard for where your abilities end, and turn enthusiasm into the energy that moves you beyond your fears. Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you. You might succeed if nobody else believes in you, but you will never succeed if you don’t believe in yourself.

The difference between the average 90 and the uncommon 10 is that the average 90 will wait for opportunities to be exposed, while the uncommon 10 will create them. It takes perseverance to break away from the mediocre and to do something other than what most people are willing to do, which is to get a job…a job that pays them below their skill level. However, this person’s mindset may just be minimum wage. Isn’t it ironic that a person can be so talented and gifted, but their personal drive is like the power of a gas operated scooter and not that of a Ferrari.

Have you ever been at a point in life when you wanted to give up, throw in the towel, and quit for the rest of your life? Remember as children, when we played baseball and we failed to catch the ball, or being embarrassed at school for liking someone who didn’t like you? How about when you felt you were the most qualified for a position on your job but you were passed over because you just blended in? All of these, and more, real-life scenarios have been used as the culprit for quitting, or becoming stagnated, where you no longer gave a hundred percent effort.

Life is about always moving forward, no matter what—it’s not becoming stagnated by some emotional letdown like a child having a temper tantrum when something doesn’t work out the way you planned it. Finding excuses for quitting at life or giving up on your dream will give most people immediate access to depression and anxiety, which oftentimes, leads to self-destruction. However, those who have a resolve in their heart realize that quitting is not an option. Disappointments, frustrations, and failures, are all a part of life. Unfortunately, we cannot always escape these life factors, because while we are learning how to live, we are also learning how to succeed at whatever is before us. These life lessons inevitably lead to mistakes. How you deal with your errors will either demonstrate your mental stability and your inner strength, or the lack thereof.

For life to work in its most simplistic form, a person must understand that it takes wisdom to fast forward, intelligence to pause, integrity of strength to play, but foolishness to go backwards. If you can wrap your head around these for components, which can help in some way to make sense out of life, then you just might discover that the purpose of life really does make a lot of sense. You were not designed to be average.

No one comes into this world and begins life counting backwards by years, months, weeks, and days. All of humanity is designed for forward mobility, and we start, not at one, but at start. A person cannot set goals for the days they’ve already lived; they can only set goals for days that have not yet been lived. This suggests that there is a Mastermind and Designer who created us to live forward, not to die in backward mode.

Do yourself a favor and rid your mind of mediocrity. Examine your efforts, challenge your strength and intelligence, and take the limits of being average and throw it as far away from you as possible. Refuse to accept what life throws at you, like most people do, and throw at life what direction you believe God has designed you to go.

I understand that it is your life to do with as you please; however, it is not your right to make other people feel guilty because they don’t want to live their lives alongside yours. It is difficult to follow a parked car. If you are not going anywhere in life and your movement is synchronized with those who are average, can you please move out of the way so others can get by you without the possibility of tripping over you? If you want to waste your time, why would I want to give you the opportunity of wasting mine?

To break away from the norm you have been traveling, you have to move through the crowd of people to create your own path. People of destiny will make life happen; average people will wait for life to happen.

Jesus said, “If they compel you to go one mile, go two.”