Are You in the Top 5%?

Thinking about the thousands of people I've met over the last 20 years, there were some people who seemed destined for failure. I'd say about 5%, even if they were born with silver spoons in their mouths and had every advantage possible. Then there is a larger percentage of people, I'd say about 90%, who will go whichever way the wind blows. If there are negative influences in their lives, they'll do negative things. If there are positive influences in their lives, they'll do extraordinary things. It seems as though they need to be lead in the right direction. Then there is the top 5%. Five percent of the people are destined for greatness. For some reason they always seem to land on their feet. They can be born in a ghetto, with no parents, with no education, no hope, and they always seem to find a way to make it. They are the cream of the crop.

Because you're reading this article, I know you're in the top 5%. You don't need motivation, nor do you need inspiration. You don't need someone to tell you how to feel, what to think and what to do. You don't need anyone to support you or look out for you. Deep down inside you have been imbued with fire and passion which can never be extinguished. The odds may have been in your favor or they may have been against you at birth, but for some reason it really doesn't matter because you don't care about the odds. All you really care about is identifying opportunity and taking advantage of it.

The reality is, regardless of your lot in life, opportunity will always present itself. In the wake of total devastation there is some form of opportunity. Because you are in the top 5% you know opportunity is there...you can sense it and smell it. Those who are in the bottom 5% cannot see it, feel it or sense it because they're sure it isn't there. Those in the larger 90% often have to be shown opportunity is there because it may be hidden. But you, in the top 5%, understand how to create your own opportunity, even when it doesn't exist.

There was a gentleman by the name of Reginald Lewis who unfortunately passed away in 1993. When he was in college he was involved in a program designed to educate young black men about going to law school. However the program was set up so those same young black man would not be able to attend law school, they would just learn about it. Reginald Lewis, because he was in the top 5%, found a way to go through the program and go to law school, which was unheard of. He sensed opportunity and he took advantage of it. All he did was ask when no one else could see that simply asking was the solution. He found a way to get what he wanted. He had an uncanny ability to identify opportunities and take advantage of them and he was eventually able to buy a company worth close to a billion dollars.

The most important part of being in the top 5% is understanding you're in the top 5%. You've got to believe it. Your mind and your spirit has to be there before anything positive happens to you. Another important aspect of being in the top 5% is patience. Believe it or not, patience is a virtue. Being in the top 5% doesn't mean you will always succeed in everything you do. It may even mean you're a massive failure at the moment. It may mean that you are ridiculed for being a dreamer. It may mean that you are flat broke, with not even a dollar in your pocket. But none of that matters as long as you know eventually you will succeed because you can see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Because you're in the top 5% you know that failure is only temporary. Those who are in the bottom 5% always let temporary failure become permanent disaster. Those who are in the greater 90% may fight through failure or get knocked out by it...it can go either way. But those in the top 5% only see it as a stepping stone to success.

So now that it is crystal clear you are in the top 5%, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to waste your God-given ability or will you take advantage it? Now is the most opportunity laden time in American history. The world is your oyster. However, there is just one other thing. Don't be afraid of opportunity and let it slip through your fingers. Even the best of us can be caught in a vicious cycle of laziness, procrastination, disbelief and blame. Then, when opportunity presents itself, we're too blinded to take advantage of it. Always keep in mind you are in the top 5%, so act like it. Be the winner that you are and never look back.

Copyright by Kirk Charles, 2008

Redistribution or reprinting of any kind, in any type of media, without the prior written authorization of Kirk Charles is strictly prohibited.