The Power of Being Ordinary

“My powers are ordinary. Only my application brings me success.” Issac Newton

I’m here today to share a few stories from my life. There’s nothing exceptional about these stories. I’m sure many of you have encountered similar situations. The only remarkable thing, perhaps, about these stories is how they helped shape me and my worldview. In doing this, I hope to make a case for ordinariness, a wonderful simplicity that can move mountains.

A couple of years ago, I was invited to a panel discussion. There were 7 of us, and I was the last one to speak. My fellow panelists were all bigshot honchos hailing from large enterprises. As they started to introduce themselves, I sensed a credential war on the rise. You see, all these men and women had done too many great things in their lives. Their credentials competed with each other on the table. The constant need for one-upmanship, to come up on top, to be the best, suffocated me.?

The next day I changed my LinkedIn profile to Christian, Dad, Tech Evangelist which truly reflects who I am. I may have gathered many laurels on the way, but this is truly who I am. I don’t believe your degrees or your job titles are the true reflection of who you are. Our consumerist culture leads us to seek perfection and compare ourselves with others. However, what we should strive for is not perfection but fulfillment. I think the biggest questions in life, like ‘What makes you happy?’, ‘What would you like to be known for?’, etc., have the most ordinary answers.?

A year or so back I was invited to speak at a prestigious event. The final invite had the dress code written down. Everybody had to show up in a blazer. It’s been a few years since I’d donned a blazer. It makes me feel uncomfortable like my skin can’t breathe, and honestly, I don’t know what the big deal is anyway. So I called the organizers and told them as much. They were quite taken aback and kept saying there would be many leaders attending. But I wasn’t one to back down easily, so this back-and-forth kept on for about 3 days. I agreed to a formal pullover at the end of the 3rd day. Nothing more. I’m sure they weren’t absolutely thrilled with that decision.?

What I can’t wrap my head around is how clothes affect leadership qualities. In fact, why do we picture leaders a certain way? All leadership meets feature people in full formal attire, a suit, tie. I question then, do clothes make a leader? Sure, the right clothing can do half the talking for you. They can make you appear more confident and put together. A dressing trend is catching on like wildfire on JoshApp and Instagram. It’s called the ‘Quiet Luxury’ or the ‘Old-money Look.’ But how much have leaders got to do with outward appearances? After all, shouldn’t your clothes be a reflection of who you are and make you feel comfortable in your skin? Will my lecture be less impactful if I were dressed in an ordinary t-shirt and jeans??

I often feel the pressure to fit into what society thinks a leader should be like. In creating the ideal leader image, are we not forgetting about the people behind it? I was often told that ?I should speak up. Market myself. I have been a hardcore believer of what Satya Nadella so eloquently puts, ‘Listen more. Talk less. Be decisive when the time comes.” Therefore, the suggestion sounded almost blasphemous to me. What have we come to that our actions alone are insufficient? I have thought about this a lot, but I realized I can’t do it. I’m just not the type. I am an introvert and seldom participate in conversations where I can’t add value. Forced conversations make me uncomfortable. Naturally, I don’t exhibit the qualities expected from a leader. I wonder if I have to sacrifice my true personality to fit into what society thinks a good leader should look and talk like.?

In times like these, the example of Jesus comes to the rescue. We all know Jesus was a miracle worker. He served others without wanting anything in return. Not even fame or gratitude. He helped and healed countless people, yet at the time of the crucifixion, he was so ORDINARY that the Roman soldiers had a hard time identifying him. He looked like every other man making it impossible to find him. It was finally, with Judas’s help, that Christ was found. This story resonates strongly with me because it shows how great people hide in ordinary faces. It’s not the extraordinariness of their attire, lifestyle, or degrees that counts but the heart they put into everything they do.

#StoriesWithjai