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At one time or another, we've all heard someone say, "Just use common sense!" But you probably haven't heard of using uncommon sense. Using uncommon sense can take you from average to incredible in all areas of your life.

Here's a comparison of common sense and uncommon sense.

What is common sense?

Common sense is loosely defined as a general set of principles that society has agreed is the "right" or conventional way to do something. These sayings and thoughts have become so ingrained in society over the years that we mostly don't even have to think about it. Using your common sense becomes a routine. Basically, common sense teaches us to think like this: This is the right way to do something because we've always done it that way, and it's just how things are.

And while using common sense is important, it's not always the right way to look at the world. Sometimes you need to use uncommon sense.

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.

Want to learn more about uncommon sense? Check out Check out Uncommon Sense to learn the 10 principles to transform your work and life.

Books by Dr. Nido Qubein

Quick! Think of a leader. Who comes to mind? A boss at work, a president, a coach you had in high school, a parent or sibling; leadership emerges in all areas of our lives.

The leadership you experience throughout your life often shapes you. The leadership qualities we admire in others are the same qualities we try to portray and build on in our own lives. No one is born a leader; it takes work. And good leaders are always working to improve themselves.

But what qualities make someone a great leader? We thought about some of the great leaders we know, and here are some qualities that they all have in common:

Great Leaders Show Passion

"To love what you do and feel that it matters…how could anything be more fun?" –Katherine Graham

Passion is a very important part of leadership, and passion isn't something we can fake. When you love what you do, it shows through your actions, which helps inspire those around you. Plus it's always more rewarding (and more fun!) to do something that matters to you. If you're having fun and feel like you're making a difference, other people in your life will be inspired to follow in your footsteps. Great leaders know this—whether it's volunteering once a week at a soup kitchen or leading a country through the Great Depression, passion always inspires others to act.

Great Leaders Stay Focused on Priorities

Great leaders help others stay focused on their goals in part by staying focused themselves. In all areas of life, it's easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out by all the little things and lose sight of the big picture. Great leaders know how to keep everyone focused by keeping priorities top of mind and adjusting as new things pop up. If we always focused on every small issue, we wouldn't have enough time to spend on the important things. Great leaders know when to let the little things go to focus on the bigger issues.

Great Leaders Stay Optimistic and Always Persevere

Life isn't perfect. There's always going to be something that gets in the way or throws you off course. But great leaders know how to stay positive and keep everyone on track, even when problems arise. Great leaders don't give up, and they don't let others give up either.

Great Leaders Build Trust and Trust Others

Trust is one of the most important qualities in life and leadership. Without trust, leaders can't inspire others to follow them or to learn from them. Trust doesn't happen overnight, and great leaders know how to prove their trustworthiness.

Another important part of trust is being able to trust others. Great leaders surround themselves with people they can count on. We can't do everything ourselves, so we need to trust others to take care of things. At work, that might be trusting a coworker to meet their deadlines on a project. At home, it might be trusting your family to have your back when you try something new.

Building trust and learning to trust others shows that you're on the same team and are all working for the same goal. Without trust, there are no followers, and without followers, there are no leaders.

A lot of different things make up great leaders, and these are just some qualities that we've noticed in leaders we know. Think about the great leaders you know. Do they have these traits? What other leadership qualities do they have? Share your ideas on what makes a great leader in the comments!

Want to learn more about leadership skills? Check out all of our leadership books!

It's easy to be grateful for the big moments in your life, but in the day-to-day craziness, sometimes we forget to be grateful for all of the people and the little things in life that make us happy. Plus expressing your gratitude can help you feel less stress and more happiness.

It's always great to remember all the good things in your life, so here are 4 tips for finding more gratitude:

1. Be thankful for what DIDN'T happen.

No matter how bad things are, they could almost always be worse. Start finding gratitude for what could have happened but didn't. You may not be thankful for everything in your life, but you can always be thankful for something.

Find more tips like this in Learning to Dance in the Rain by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher.

2. Don't hold on to your anger or hurt.

Though you may not realize it, you are always choosing between two ways of perceiving: Looking to the world for reasons to be upset, or looking in your heart for reasons to be happy. You can't be upset and grateful at the same time, and life is too short to look for reasons to be upset. Try to remember that patience and tolerance bring you happiness, while anger and hatred bring you suffering.

Find more tips like this in Smile for No Good Reason by Dr. Lee Jampolsky.

3. Savor life's little moments.

Italian poet and novelist Cesare Pavese once said, "We do not remember days; we remember moments." At today's hectic pace, however, we often forget to live in the moment, to just be. And by just being, by just soaking up a beautiful moment, we can find some of life's greatest pleasures.

Find more tips like this in The Road to Happiness by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher.

4. Express your gratitude by living it.

Expressing gratitude brings even more things to be grateful for. No matter what's going on around you, look for things to appreciate, and then express your appreciation. You don't spread gratitude by preaching or scolding—you spread it by living it. Every moment. Every hour. Every day. John F. Kennedy said it best, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

Find more tips like this in Learning to Dance in the Rain by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher.

Finding something to be grateful for and expressing your gratitude helps you find more happiness in your life (and you can spread that happiness and attitude of gratitude on to others). So show your friends and family how much you appreciate them, and show your appreciation for life's perfect little moments.

For even more tips for and reminders about having an attitude of gratitude, check out our gratitude books.

We can all choose to live a less stressful life. But how do we make the right choices to get rid of stress? Follow these 5 tips to strip away your stress so you can live life blissfully!

1. Slow down to go faster.

By slowing down we can take time to discover our purpose and choose to fully live it each and every day…Making a move to the right hand lane may make you think things and life are going to pass you by. Yet, choosing to slow down lets us enjoy the road along the way, it can supercharge us to reach our ultimate destination.

This stress-relief tip is from Stress Is a Choice by David Zerfoss.

2. Set clear goals.

When you decide upon a goal, you override your failure mechanism and change the direction of your life. You go from being a rudder, drifting with the tide, to becoming a ship with a rudder, a compass and a clear destination, sailing straight toward your destination.

This stress-relief tip is from The Power of Discipline by Brian Tracy.

3. Schedule your priorities.

Life can become very full very fast. If we first block off time for who and what is most important in our lives, it can actually free us up to really focus on all the rest.

This stress-relief tip is from Stress is a Choice by David Zerfoss.

4. Squeeze the most out of your day.

Write down the six most important things you need to accomplish. Not only will you start tomorrow ready to go, but subconsciously, you'll also be working on those six projects while you sleep.

This stress-relief tip is from Stuck on Stop by Vicki Hitzges.

5. Visualize yourself as you want to be.

There is a special way that you can accelerate your progress toward becoming the highly productive, effective, efficient person that you want to be. It consists of your thinking continually about the rewards and benefits of being an action-oriented, fast-moving, focused person. See yourself as the kind of person who gets important jobs done quickly and well on a consistent basis.

This stress-relief tip is from Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy.

Sometimes stress is unavoidable, but remember that we can choose to have less stress. Have great tips for stress relief? Share 'em in the comments! You can also find more tips on our Stress Relief board on Pinterest.

All of these tips are featured in our most popular books on personal development and stress management. For more tips on how to stress less, check out our personal development books.

We like to celebrate Mom every day, but Mother's Day is our chance to recognize the inspiration and wisdom she has provided us. Here are some of our favorite gift ideas to show Mom how important she is.

1. Flowers for now, flowers for later.

A bouquet of your mom's favorite flowers is always a great go-to gift for Mother's Day! But we also like to give Mom something special that she can keep forever. In Heart of a Mother, the beauty of a mother's love for her child is shown through different types of flowers (and includes wonderful illustrations). Combine a book with a floral arrangement and you've got a beautiful gift Mom can enjoy today and cherish forever.

2. A keepsake note that Mom will want to display.

Write a special note in a book and use it as a card for Mother's Day. Mom won't want to tuck her book away with all her other cards, and every time she sees it, she'll have a reminder of how much you love her. Our latest book, Love Blooms in a Mother's Heart, is a gift that illustrates and says it all! Bonus—the author, Kathy Davis, is a leading gift card designer.

3. Let me count the ways.

Sometimes it's hard to explain why your mom is so important to you. A great way to show your love can be as easy as creating a list of the special things she has done for you. Find 100 reasons why moms are so important in the bestselling books Why a Daughter Needs a Mom and Why a Son Needs a Mom. You can add your own stories and special memories you have with your mom to make this a personal gift from the heart.

Mother's Day is that one special day that is all about Mom. Even though she'll love anything you get her because it's from you, a thoughtful gift from your heart is always the best way to show Mom how much she means. Don't forget to share your favorite Mother's Day gift ideas in the comments!

If you need a little help finding the words to tell Mom how much you love her, check out our books for Mother's Day