Ordinary isn't Extraordinary
When I first set out to become a keynote speaker, I got feedback I’ll never forget. I had hired a marketing company to help me launch my brand – and the owner of the company told me, “I love your message… but you’re just so… ordinary.”
And he went on to explain. Most keynote speakers have something big on their résumé—Olympians, Fortune 500 executives, doctors, political figures, people who have climbed Mount Everest or survived a shark attack or something… And me? I was a mom. A sales leader. A small-town Kansas girl with a message from my grandmother: Be who you came to be. I remember looking back at him and saying, “That’s exactly why the world needs this message.” Because most of us aren’t climbing Everest. Most of us are living what the world would call ordinary lives. And I believe ordinary is extraordinary.
Here’s an example of ordinary being extraordinary. There are roughly 130 million babies born every year around the world, and yet when it’s your baby, or someone you love, there is nothing ordinary about it. It is everything.
That’s the Human Edge. Not the highlight reel or the big, flashy, once-in-a-lifetime moments, but the ones that happen every day… the ones we feel deeply, the ones that shape us, the ones that connect us.
As I write this, I’m on vacation celebrating 25 years of marriage – our anniversary is actually today, March 31!!! And what stands out most aren’t just the milestones. It’s the ordinary moments that, over time, became extraordinary. The conversations, the laughter, the hard seasons we walked through together, the quiet nights, the chaos, the growth… the life. Our relationship is truly extraordinary.
Emotional intelligence is what allows us to see it. To be present enough to recognize that this moment matters. To not rush past it, minimize it, or wait for something bigger to finally feel fulfilled. Because in a world that is constantly pushing us to do more, be more, and achieve more, we can miss the very thing that makes life meaningful.
So here’s your Tuesday Tip: shift your lens. Instead of asking, “What’s next?” ask, “What’s here?”
What in your life right now - that might feel ordinary - is actually extraordinary?
Because the truth is, these are the moments that build connection. These are the moments that build relationships. These are the moments that build a life.
And in the age of AI… this is your edge.
Be who you came to be.
Love will guide you.
