BEING EXTRAORDINARY CONT ...
much in-depth stuff that it makes this perfect jigsaw puzzle ,” Dr . Qubein said . “ That makes it hard for someone to imitate what you do .”
DON ’ T SEEK IDEAS , SEEK
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WISDOM .
The biggest mistake anyone can make in today ’ s environment is to focus on gaining more knowledge . “ If all you have is information , people will use you and discard you ,” Dr . Qubein said . “ If all you have is knowledge , people will only call upon you when they need you . But if you have wisdom , they will always respect you . And if they respect you , they ’ ll always do business with you .”
At HPU , Dr . Qubein heavily promotes that every student has a success coach and a four-year Development of Life Skills . “ Knowledge does not equal understanding ,” Dr . Qubein said . “ The reason we all need to be coached , the reason we need heroes , role models , and mentors is because we have to take knowledge , that is sometimes raw data , and turn it into understanding .”
Whereas you gain knowledge and skills from a book , a speaker , or a bootcamp , using a system such as a mastermind helps you to gain wisdom . “ What you don ’ t get today , you get tomorrow ,” Dr . Qubein explained . “ It ’ s a continuum . It begins to penetrate your soul .”
ALWAYS BE BETTER
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THAN YOU WERE LAST YEAR .
If today the thing you are selling is the latest , the finest , the best , tomorrow it may not be because things are continually changing . Aiming to be the best in technology , Dr . Qubein spent $ 90 million on technology for the HPU campus . To stay ahead of other universities , he invests in new technology every year . “ It ’ s a continuum ,” Dr . Qubein explained . “ I know I have to spend $ 5 million to $ 10 million every year , just to stay even . If you are just as good today as you were a year ago , you ’ re worse off . You must be better than you were a year ago , just to stay even . That ’ s the way the world really works .”
ASK YOURSELF EVERY
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DAY , “ WHAT ’ S SO SPECIAL ABOUT ME AND MY COMPANY ?”
Prompted by the fact that there are a million people in the world who can do your job , Dr . Qubein asks himself every day how he can be more extraordinary , more inspiring , more caring in each area of his life ( i . e ., “ What ’ s so special about HPU ?).
“ What ’ s so special about you ?” he asks . You must constantly ask the question and constantly be changing . “ If you don ’ t do it fast enough , you become old ,” Dr . Qubein said . “ You start making excuses . You stop taking risks .”
DEVELOP A GROWTH
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MIND-SET .
Part of the HPU mission is that every student graduate with a growth and entrepreneurial mind-set so they will have the confidence to overcome any obstacle and be willing to adapt . When schools started shutting down during the pandemic , HPU figured out how to overcome this challenge . Knowing students are educated best in the classroom with real live faculty , HPU didn ’ t merely shut down and go online . They adapted by booking hotel rooms and changing the way their food operation worked to keep students safe . They prepared to quarantine and isolate students if they became sick . They built a new health services area and had separate insurance for people that thought they might be sick with COVID . There were challenges , but they persevered . Families responded positively and loved it . “ This is a time for us to inform our clients , to involve our clients , to inspire our clients ,” Dr . Qubein said . “ But mostly it ’ s a time to be agile , flexible , and resilient .”
Extraordinary doesn ’ t just happen . You must be vigilant . Obsessed . And accept no excuses . You must relentlessly focus on being better and striving for excellence every day . You can ’ t think horizontally and expect to get the best the world has to offer . You must decide to think vertically , adapt , and continually seek to understand . You must control your mind-set despite the obstacles in your way . Dr . Qubein says , “ You must raise the standards and choose to be extraordinary .”
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