I bet you could easily name one or more people whom you would describe as ‘remarkable’.  Those people stand-out.  And what’s more, if we were all in a room the names we produced would have plenty of overlap –  Mahatma Ghandi is an easy one, and Mother Theresa is pretty likely too.

Some small percentage of remarkable people become famous for what they achieve, and so many of us can name them – and in the cases of Ghandi and Mother Theresa there would be little debate about the description.  If you search the web for ‘remarkable people’, celebrity will be mentioned pretty close to the top of the resulting articles, and in some of these cases the debate would stronger!

But being remarkable doesn’t require fame.  The teacher that manages to genuinely inspire her pupils to greatness, surely is a candidate.  As would be the soldier who is awarded the Victoria Cross and the list of Nobel laureates.

My ‘elevator pitch’ version of what I think it takes to become remarkable is – Positive, Passion and Purpose.

• Positive – what remarkable people do, is for good.  Whether on a small or a grand scale, against insurmountable odds or simply unique – but certainly, for good.
• Passion – being remarkable takes effort and time, the kind of effort and time that few people are willing to commit… and passion is an amazing driver to put in that effort and time.
• Purpose –  I was tempted to include another ‘P’ for ‘people’ but decided that purpose and people are intertwined.  We are fundamentally social animals and to be recognised as remarkable by other people, usually requires an underlying purpose that benefits others.  And like passion, purpose and meaning beyond ourselves drives effort over the long-haul.

The rest of this series will go beyond the elevator pitch and I hope it goes some way to inspire the remarkable in you…

Be remarkable,
Mark