MY LIFE IS a miracle in itself. I am almost sure that if my father had not done something extraordinary three decades ago, you wouldn’t probably be reading this. And Africa wouldn’t have gotten my gift of my new book Tears of my Mother that’s inspiring multitudes across the continent because I am not sure I would be alive today. It happened that as a baby I fell severely sick and it reached a point where almost everyone doubted I was going to make it. But in a bid to save my life, my dad packed me in a box, put on me a bicycle and rode to a hospital which was/is 22 miles away from my home area. At a point when most people had given up on me, my father still had the courage to take on that long and tiring journey. It was an extra step of faith and I am sure it paid off. I haven’t disappointed hi. That experience of my dad’s faith taught me to always go beyond where others stop in making things happen. I never want to remain average. I don’t want to be counted among the ‘etc’. I want to be among those who lead, those who give direction to the rest, those who believe even when everyone else doesn’t believe, those who will always see the light at the end of the tunnel.Where people fear to ask questions, an achiever goes ahead to ask so as to understand better. While others are ashamed of bargaining for a discount, a winner bargains because he/she knows the importance of minimizing expenditure. When the rest have gone home, a success-minded person will spend another hour evaluating the day and strategizing for tomorrow. What extra miles have you been walking in your pursuit of success? Or are you sitting, waiting that success will find you where you are?Sometimes the difference between success and failure is a very tiny thing. There is a time when two men that I know competed for an NGO job and the interview panel found it hard to decide who was better. Then one panellist asked the gentlemen to untie their ties and tie them again. One did it in just a few minutes while the other sweated as he fidgeted. The one who tied it was given the job.The extra mile could be learning a computer program that your colleagues don’t know about, reading another self-help book, learning how to drive a car, saying a ‘thank you’ to your customer, arriving for an appointment ten minutes earlier, or staying up for another two hours working when other people are sleeping. To be extraordinary means taking that extra step beyond the ordinary. Go beyond the average. Don’t be predictable. Don’t just do things the way everyone else is doing them. Be unique, be you. Be innovative. Reinvent yourself everyday. And success will be yours. Robert Bake is the MD World of Inspiration & Founder, Authors’ Forum, Uganda – +256-704666851.