Be Unrealistic

"Realistic people do not accomplish extraordinary things because the odds of success stymie them. The best performers ignore the odds... Great performances are, by definition, abnormal."

-- John Eliot

Playing the odds can defeat you before you begin. It's like listening to nay sayers. There are always at least a thousand reasons you won't succeed, and at least a thousand people willing to enumerate each and every reason for you. They call themselves statisticians, relatives or friends.

Ignore them. Ignoring them does not guarantee your success, but it does assure that you will not be prematurely sapped of the energy and resolve necessary to meet your goals. Paying them no never mind at least allows you to tap into the power of naivete, and sometimes that unbridled enthusiasm is all you need to fuel your extraordinary performance.

And by "extraordinary performance" I don't mean climbing Mt. Everest or winning American Idol or setting some inane record for the Guinness Book of World Records. No, true extraordinary performances are always an outgrowth of your highest loves, your deepest longings. Newspaper headlines, Nobel Prizes, and MacArthur Grants don't matter. What matters is that you do that which makes your heart sing, and that you do it to the best of your ability.

That's all -- doing your personal best at the thing you want to do most. Against all odds. In the face of all well-meaning advisers. Being statistically abnormal. Accepting that you're a mutant. Embracing your passion. Opening to grace. Performing at your peak. A fine way to live.