The mandate to be Uncommon actually came to me from three different sources. The first was my dad. When I was growing up, he always talked to us about not following the crowd and not doing something just because everyone else was doing it. He encouraged us to chase our own dreams, even if it meant being ridiculed for being different.

When I arrived at the University of Minnesota as a freshman football player, my coach, Cal Stoll, built upon my dad’s theme. In our first meeting, he said, “Success is uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man.” He told us he was looking for men who had the attitude and desire to do what everyone else could do, but most people wouldn’t.

The third, and most important source of the Uncommon idea was the Bible. One of my mom’s favorite scriptures was Matthew 7:13-14 where Jesus talks about entering through the narrow gate and traveling the narrow path rather than the broad highway. He was talking about salvation and the way to heaven, but I think it applies to life as well.

We should never be afraid to take the tough road, to follow a higher calling, or set a higher standard. In short, we should never be satisfied with being average, but should strive to be Uncommon.

- Tony Dungy