Marion's Blog

This week I was reading a fabulous interview* with an 'ordinary' person - Brianne Jourdin who became extraordinary the moment her daughter, Kenadie, was born with Primordial Dwarfism (meaning that at 3 years of age, she weighed less then her new-born baby brother the moment he came into the world).

To me, Brianne did not become extraordinary because of her daughter but because of the way she chose to deal with Kenadie's being. Instead of choosing over-protectiveness, she chooses to teach Kenadie all about life as we all know it, allowing her to play in the playground with other kids, who are x-times her size and weight and could easily break her bones if she so much as is knocked over during their playing. By allowing her to breathe, and live, and whilst acknowledging that life may be much shorter then most of ours should be, she is determined that her daughter should gain the most out of it. In the interview she describes her reaction when she is asked if Kenadie could feature in a Dutch childrens' movie, as "Viegeltje" a little girl that thinks she is a bird instead of a girl. Brianne's environment worries about exploitation, but Brianne looks at her daughter's face and sees it light up at the idea and decides "Why not, she may never get such a chance again, and should get everything out of her life there is possibly to get" and goes for it. Only to see her daughter act and shine and be happier then she would have imagined possible.

So many people choose to lead ordinary lives, to follow straight, well-trodden paths without venturing down the unknown trails that could lead to exhiliaration or disaster. To not take risks. To BE ordinary, despite the fact that every single one of us has the potential for extraordinary things, if only we follow our hearts and passions and are not afraid of failure.

I think that all of you reading this on E.Factor - already have taken a step towards being extraordinary, to lead extraordinary lives. You are entrepreneurs and business owners, which means you have taken that step to go against the grain and start something new yourselves. Something you believe in and something that makes you happy. Just don't ever assume it ends there, continue to open your heart and mind to new possibilities, new adventures and live that extraordinary life only so few of us seem to aspire to. And I don't mean that you should focus on being rich - that is only one way and not even necessarily the surest. Look for richness in experience, in contacts and primarily in self-development instead.
You will never look back.

* Source: "Hiep Iep! Hoera" by Maaike Beekers, Red Magazine, maart 2010