Mediocrity is the Enemy

A long time ago, I was about to graduate from college. I went to say goodbye and thank a man who had encouraged me and mentored me for two years. It was very pleasant and, as we were wrapping up, I asked if he had any advice for me. He said he did not like to give life advice but I persisted. “Okay, Don. Here it is. Don’t live a mediocre life.” Surprised, I promised him that I would try not to. He got a bit stern and said, “Don’t be mediocre. Most of us are.” I did not think a lot about it but, as I have gotten older, I see what he was telling me.

Let’s face it. Most of us do live mediocre lives. We get up each day and go to a job that pays the bills but we do not really love it. In many cases, we are “underemployed” and spend our days doing tasks below our skill level. We never have an impact on our industry or community and more damning, we never achieve our dreams. People start talking about living for the weekends and vacations. They have effectively given up and I have heard them refer to themselves as survivors. It is sad but normal. And, some of them are not even 40 years old.

I have observed a lot of mediocre people and see a dreary sameness to how they spend their free time. They watch too much TV, party a lot, or escape in to a ridiculous obsession with sports. They also (sadly) have certain things in common:

1) They never think big. Not mindless daydreaming of winning the lottery but they have no life plan. They do not live life—it happens to them. And, they wind up bitter.

2) They rarely take thought out and calculated risks.

3) They surround themselves with people who have the same fears of unemployment or winding up broke and with few friends.

So, my young friends out there, may I offer the following advice that I  was given. Don’t live a mediocre life. Look at your environment. Are you friends and family holding you back? Do those close to you tell you that you are lazy or not good enough? Do you go to the same websites all the time? Are you in a comfortable rut? Maybe that is a large part of what is holding you back. Remember the old adage—“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” A cliche, yes. That does not mean that it is not true.

Most advertising is mediocre. Did you notice now how a good commercial stops you in your tracks even in this age of commercial avoidance? Most people are mediocre at their jobs, most Americans of a certain age are overweight, others are close to broke after a lifetime of work but hurt by bad decisions. If you really care about your life, then you should be insulted if you consider yourself to be mediocre. If something is REALLY important to you, you will find a way to change.

Warren Buffett tells graduate students to not “go sleepwalking through life.” That was what my economics mentor was trying to tell me. Find your passion, follow it, and your life will be anything but mediocre.

If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com