Average Sucks

The following is adapted from Average Sucks by Michael Bernoff.

I get stopped a lot by people in the street. Not because I’m attractive or famous (not even close).

No, I get stopped because I have a license plate that says, “Average Sucks.” I have shirts I wear all the time that say, “Average Sucks.” People stop because they agree: “Average Sucks.”

The response I get is always the same, “That is so cool man. You’re right, dude. Average does suck. To hell with average, you know, I never want to be average.”

It’s typically somebody doing well. Somebody pretty proud of their life. And so I ask them, “Do you have any idea what it means?”

And they respond, “Oh yeah. Being average sucks. Most people are average, and I’m not. And my whole goal in life is to be above average.”

And that’s when I tell them, “Not at all. That’s not what it means.”

And they get just as confused as you probably are right now.

What Average Sucks means is something very different, something much deeper. Understanding it is the answer to the question, “How do I get what I want in this world?”

To put it plainly: Average Sucks is all about moving past YOUR average, so that you can become who you want to be.

So why does Average Suck? Well, let me ask you this first.

Have you ever had the feeling you’re capable of more? You know how sometimes you get that gnawing feeling that you could be doing so much more with your life?

It may be hard to explain, and you may not want to admit it to others, but when you are alone and you’re looking back at your day or your month or whatever part of your life — you know there’s a whole other level you haven’t reached yet. You feel it and you know it.

You should be playing at a higher level.

Even if other people perceive you as “doing great,” even if at this very moment you may actually be kicking ass, doing so much better than you were a few short years ago — it still never feels like enough.

There’s still a piece of you that feels like you’re a bit of a loser if you don’t push harder.

On one hand, you’re proud of all you’ve done. On the other hand, your inner voice is saying, “I know I’m better than this, there has to be a better way. What am I missing?”

You know if you can just get to that next level, then you’ll be more fulfilled.

I’ve had these thoughts and feelings my entire life.

I had this sense that these feelings were important and were there to let me know I was special, yet I didn’t understand what to do with them.

Now when I talked to a few people I really respect, I realized they have the exact same feeling and it is just as hard for any of them to explain it with words.

The best way I can describe it is like I have this driving force inside of me, this feeling that I am truly special in this world. We all are, right? Most of us believe we are uniquely special in our own way.

Well, I’d even go so far as to say that I believe I’ve got something special inside me that other people don’t have. I say that humbly yet with certainty that I know I am meant to do great things, and when I follow that gut instinct and push myself and take action on my ideas, it’s like that force inside me gets stronger and stronger.

And that’s how I know I’m right. And that’s how I know I’m not meant to be average.

You see, when you do more and when you do better, you feel even more powerful and confident. And the more you do those things, the stronger that invisible force gets, guiding you and driving you to do better, to be better in any area of life. And that’s when you feel invincible and truly alive.

But sometimes, sometimes I’d feel that force sending me in a direction … yet when I got there, or closer to where I wanted to be, something was stopping me. I’d literally run into a wall and there was no way I could go around it, over it, through it … nothing.

This feeling sucks! That’s the feeling of your average holding you back. That’s the invisible, deflating feeling you get any time you’re going for something new and you stop. It’s super frustrating and hard to identify, even though everyone feels it. Welcome to your average.

For more advice on how to overcome your average, you can find Average Sucks on Amazon.

When Michael Bernoff got called out for not living up to his potential, it bothered him. But rather than shrinking from the challenge, he chose to step up and solve a problem he saw in the personal development industry. This quest led him to develop Human Interaction Technology, which moves society forward through the power of communication. From there, Michael founded the Human Communications Institute, which is dedicated to creating rapid and lasting change in people’s lives. He works with entrepreneurs, athletes, executives, and Fortune 500 companies, offering courses, live events, and leadership training for those who want to achieve a life beyond limits.