I was on a Southwest Airlines flight this week. One of the flight attendants had great one-liners, an amazing singing voice and outrageous and entertaining lyrics; she raised the quality of the service event. And why not? If it could be ordinary or extraordinary, why do ordinary?

I was at a Starbucks this week. I watched as one of the staff danced around the store to some really upbeat and fun music, handing out samples of this week’s coffee. It was fun and completely extraordinary.

I was at a great bakery this week – artisan bread and pastries that are incredible. Yum. I asked about one pastry I did not recognize. The woman behind the counter took it off the plate, cut it into pieces and offered one to me and to the others in line, then told us the process of how it is made. Extraordinary.

I was talking to colleague whose child has an amazing teacher. As they study geography, this teacher brings in authentic food, plays the country’s music and introduces some of the language. The kids are captivated and interested. They learn. Extraordinary.

I traveled this week. And hidden in my briefcase was an amazing card, reminding me how loved I am at home, and how missed I am when I travel. Extraordinary.

Notice that I did not bring up the ordinary events – I don’t remember them. They are bland, boring and leave no impression. If you want to get noticed in the workplace, do some “extraordinary.” If you want to build a more powerful relationship at home, do some “extraordinary.”

Doing the extraordinary is rarely about spending. Rather it is about doing something with greater effort, creativity, interest or passion. It is about the extra effort. It is about adding some WOW! It is about being more present, more engaged and more fired up. It is a reminder that extraordinary is so much better than ordinary.

So what ways can you move from ordinary to extraordinary this week? What ways can you kick it up at work and at home?

So remember, if you have the choice to make it ordinary or extraordinary, why choose ordinary?

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you learn how to connect to your “extraordinary.”