Uncommon Sense: The 10 Principles to Transform Your Work and Life

So what's uncommon sense? While common sense is considered conventional wisdom, uncommon sense is a re-examination of that conventional wisdom. In our business life and personal life, following common sense is usually the safe way to go. But, the people who are really making a difference in the world are usually the people who try something new. People that may go against something that may go against what conventional wisdom says is the "right" way to do something. Unconventional thinking is the reason we have the ability to fly thousands of feet above the ground. Can you imagine a world without airplanes? The Wright brothers are a real-world example of people who went against conventional wisdom and completely changed the world. Common sense says that humans can't possibly fly, but the Wright brothers challenged that. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have modern air travel. Uncommon sense is not about throwing common sense totally out the window. Tapping into our uncommon sense allows us to take a deeper look at things we often take for granted. It fights against the thought or perspective: Well, it's just the way things are. Dr. Nido Qubein, president of High Point University and author of Uncommon Sense: The 10 Principles to Transform Your Work and Life, explains that uncommon sense is all about taking a critical approach to life. Here are some of the Dr. Qubein's examples of uncommon sense: Productive failure is better than unproductive success Avoid the urgent; focus on the important Manage your life, not just your time Don't seek improvement; seek excellence So yes, sometimes you might get reminded to use your common sense, but even more importantly, you should remind yourself to use your uncommon sense. It just might change your life.