It is so easy to lose track of the exceptional when the ordinary is involved. Let me give you an example: Last spring my daughters and I went to Paris and after leaving the Eiffel Tower wanted to go get something to eat. I found a place on my GPS and started out to get there. Each time the GPS direction brought me right back to the entrance of the Eiffel Tower, after doing this 3 times, my kids began to complain and said, “Not the Eiffel Tower again, Mom!“. Now when we look back at this, we laugh. You see a couple of months before leaving for Paris we were so excited about the opportunity of visiting the Eiffel Tower and were amazed when we first saw it. But after hanging out all day at the Eiffel Tower, we were tired and just wanted to go back to our resort. The exceptional structure had now become ordinary to us. We lost our WOW!

This is how it is with so many of us in our lives. We start on an exceptional path and quickly loose our WOW. When the exceptional becomes the ordinary we lose our sense of purpose and we find ourselves drifting through lives. This is why it is important to be grateful because gratefulness helps us remember what the exceptional really is.

In my last blog when I mentioned “strive for the exceptional”, I did not mean “wait for the exceptional”. Strive is an action word which means you are actually doing something even if it means taking ordinary steps to achieve that exceptional result. I will give you an example from my practice: In my practice I do not engage in business with just any client because to me a dollar is not a dollar is not a dollar. I engage in projects with people that I can be passionate about. I know very well people and projects I don’t care about have the tendency to drain me emotionally. I want exceptional clients whom I know I can get exceptional results for. However, once I engage in an exceptional project, there will be parts of it that will be ordinary. This is why I have to put into practice the principle of gratitude. I have to remind myself why I took the project in the first place – It was an exceptional project and I knew I could deliver exceptional results.

Application to business

One such ordinary activity that is needed to produce exceptional result in business is reviewing financial statements. This is a very “ordinary” tasks but doing this exercise gives you the knowledge you need to make good decisions. Financial statements direct behavior: A regular analysis will show you where to focus your attention and where to retract it. It also points you to where you may have problems with your goods or service. For example, if customers are consistently requesting refund for a particular product, then you will need to examine the product for its fitness of use.

As ordinary as reviewing your financial statement is, a consistent application of this practice leads to an exceptional business. You cannot fully delegate the financial aspects of your business. You need to understand them as this is the most effective way to drive growth.

Exceptional results do not come to you by just thinking about it. You have to engage in the ordinary to make it happen. Little drops of water can eventually turn into a mighty ocean. It takes discipline and gratitude to excel. Discipline without gratitude is like a stormy cloud without rain. Without gratitude, you will never be satisfied with any of your accomplishments you have acquired through your rigid disciplined practice.

Life Application

So what about you, are you waiting for the “exceptional” or are you engaged in “ordinary” actions that accumulate into exceptional results? How can you apply what you have just learned in this blog to make one simple change in your life? It is the little ordinary things that add up to exceptional results, so quit thinking about big actions you can take and start small.

Remember, we do not achieve great things waiting but we need to strive for the exceptional by engaging in the ordinary. At Lifestyle CPA, I can show you how to properly identify your steps and show you how to take ordinary actions that lead to exceptional results in your business.