What's wrong with exceptional!?

I feel as though it has become commonplace to use "being a member of the human race" as a crutch. It's true, we all make mistakes but that doesn't prohibit us from being exceptional. Not being perfect isn't an excuse for consciously compromising our integrity. We are in a time that tolerates being mediocre and celebrates the obtaining of the illusion rather than the reality. But if we are going to be on this earth, why not be exceptional!? "I'm only human" is the common phase used to pardon our indiscretions. But we forget the true greatness of humans. We tend to celebrate the people who have walked into their greatness and elevated themselves instead of noticing they were just simply showing us our own potential. They were human as we are, they just made the choice to be exceptional. This life should be spent exploring, then exceeding our own unique greatness. Not by the measure of society but by the fulfillment of our own souls. It's not until we reach beyond our grasp that we can expand beyond our "human" limitations. BE EXCEPTIONAL!!