"Mediocrity is of the Adversary"

Mediocrity is of the Adversary

Ladies and gentlemen, this week’s post will be on something we have discussed previously. The topic is mediocrity. To maintain clarity in this discussion, let’s define terms. Mediocrity will be defined as any state that results from one’s own decision to avoid self-improvement. Adversary will be defined as anything or anyone with the aim of inhibiting the individual from improving his or herself.

This discussion will primarily go over goals, objectives and outcomes.

Religious people view Satan or some other kind of devil as their adversary. He and his minions are out there to cause havoc and to create stumbling blocks along one’s path throughout life. Temptations to sin, if one submits, can lead to one’s derailment from attaining his/her spiritual and temporal aspirations. If the individual’s objective is to overcome the worldly things and strengthen his or her spirituality, he or she must also defeat their spiritual adversary. As the battle rages on, if the individual decides to stop trying to beat the aforementioned spiritual adversary, the battle is over. The adversary no longer needs to exert any effort on that person. He or she chose to stop at a certain point and to just stagnate… mediocrity is the state in which this person now dwells.

Study hard.

In school, if a student is very gifted and desires to be at the top of the class, there will always be someone else there to pounce at the slightest hint of slacking. This same student may also have a personality that clashes with a particular teacher or administrator. Despite all the effort this student puts into studying a particular subject, his or her work may be critiqued more harshly by this teacher than perhaps some other student may be graded. If he or she gets frustrated by the unfair treatment and throws his or her hands up, the quest is over. Mediocrity settles in and the SOB of a teacher wins.

Work hard.

The same thing can happen in the work place. But instead of a teacher and a student, it would be a boss and an employee. Having one’s contributions belittled day after day can really begin to wear on that individual’s nerves. By giving in to the negativity created by the boss’s attitude, the employee can stop being productive… and by extension, he or she stops developing the skills that will lead to promotions and raises. The SOB of a boss is the victor, because the employee settles into a state of mediocrity.

 

Subway loyalty card.

At the age of 17, Fred DeLuca opened a sandwich shop with a $1,000 loan from a family friend. One year later, he opened a second. Now, 48 years after opening that first little sandwich shop, Subway has over 3,600 stores in 99 countries. Little Fred DeLuca, who only started his sandwich-creating endeavor to earn some extra money for college, is worth over 1.5 Billion USD. During his first year in business, he realized marketing and visibility were the two most important ingredients to expanding his success. The biggest problem he encountered was the crappiness of his first location. Had Fred let the mediocre location of his first store be the face of his brand to his potential customer base, it is possible that no one outside of Bridgeport, CT would have ever heard of a sandwich shop called Subway. But he overcame the downside of his maiden store’s location by having a good product and getting positive marketing out to the people who would become his business’s patrons. He then opened additional stores in more reputable locations, while continuing to build the brand. Fred blew past mediocrity and destroyed his adversary in the process.

There are thousands of examples of people overcoming their adversaries in industry, sports, entertainment, literature, academics, diplomacy, military, etc. You name the field, there have been people exactly like you and me who have been inspirations and leaders to their peers. The only thing that sets them apart from the rest of their contemporaries is that they put that little bit extra into not being mediocre. Mediocrity is of the adversary, because if you stop trying to improve, he/she/it stops having to stop you. Mediocrity is synonymous with self-defeat, throwing in the towel, or simply giving up.

What the world needs now, is success... sweet success!

Ladies and gentlemen, find your passion. If you don’t have one right now, seek one out. Something that makes you want to excel. Develop skills, expand your knowledge, try a new approach and beat the odds. The universe is only against you if you let it be. Don’t give in, don’t get down and don’t give up! The world needs more excelling and less mediocrity. The world needs you!