I genuinely believe most people become anomalies at some point in their lives.

Why?

Because a lot of things that weren’t supposed to happen… happen.

People survive situations they statistically shouldn’t.
People recover from circumstances that should have buried them.
People find ways around obstacles they were told would stop them.

So what do you call someone who repeatedly finds a way through barriers?

Some call it luck.

Others call it talent.

Some call it being gifted.

Reality is usually somewhere in the middle.

This piece isn’t about me. It isn’t about proving anything either.

It’s about understanding something much bigger:

People notice anomalies because anomalies disrupt expectations.

We build assumptions about what success should look like, what failure should look like, what type of person is “supposed” to accomplish certain things, and what outcomes feel realistic.

Then someone breaks the pattern.

That’s when people start using words like:

Lucky.

Gifted.

Different.

But what if the reality is much simpler?

What if many anomalies are simply people who kept moving long enough to arrive somewhere probability said they shouldn’t?

From your perspective—you are the main character of your own life.

That matters.

Because until you acknowledge that, you struggle to understand why your decisions, your environment, your habits, and your mindset matter so much.

Life is constantly applying pressure.

Some forces work against you.

Some forces work for you.

Your job is figuring out how to navigate both.

For me personally, endlessly consuming information was never enough.

Information matters—but information without self-awareness is incomplete.

Knowing what you’re capable of.

Knowing your limitations.

Knowing what you’re willing—and unwilling—to do.

That’s where real leverage begins.

Think about any product sitting on a shelf.

If someone doesn’t like it, they simply don’t buy it.

The same principle applies to people.

Blurred lines create confusion.

Clarity creates direction.

Not everyone will like how you communicate, how you think, or how you operate—and that’s okay.

Because at the end of the day, there is one thing you can almost always control:

Your performance.

Not outcomes.

Not opinions.

Not circumstances.

Your performance.

And sometimes that consistency—the ability to keep showing up despite probability, despite obstacles, despite setbacks—is exactly what makes someone look like an anomaly.

When in reality…

They just refused to stop.

Can you believe this year is almost halfway over? I don’t know about you, but for some reason, time just seems to move faster as I get older.

One of the reasons I dislike New Year’s resolutions is they set many of us up for failure. There were so many well-intentioned goals that people set out to accomplish but fell short on. Life happens, you get sidetracked, major life events occur unexpectedly, and before you know it, the year is half done and the weight of defeat has arrived.

Recalibrate

The lights have faded on the new year, and now the ramp-up to end-of-year goals begins. A few months from now, we’ll look up and next year’s New Year’s resolution campaign will be gearing up for yet another run at capitalizing on our ambitions.

This is the perfect time to take inventory of what’s working and what’s not. Why did that big change you planned fail, or why did you have a difficult time committing to the goal?

It’s not too late!

Lock in for the second half, and I’ll see you at the finish line.