We all have an enemy called average. It doesn’t matter where you are in life. Your job, your finances, your mission, your house or car, and your current situation are not important. That represents where you are, and that may be average. But you aren’t meant to stay average.
As John Mason says, “You were born an original, don’t die a copy.”
We were created to be more than average, but it’s easy to become a conformist, fall into the average class and give up. That requires you to do nothing; just follow the crowd. When you’re average, you’re just as close to the bottom as you are to the top. The good news is you can get out of the rut, but it requires you to be proactive rather than reactive. In other words, take charge of your time — and your life — and take steps to beat the enemy called average. Your attitude is the single most significant game-changer in your life. Nothing else will have a more substantial impact. Nothing. Nada. Zippo.
It’s one of the most outstanding books you’ll read: An Enemy Called Average by John Mason. You can read the table of contents and be encouraged and motivated. In the introduction, Mason writes: “Mediocrity is a region bound on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking, and on the west by lack of vision.”It’s one thing to recognize where you are, though. It’s entirely another thing to do something about it. That’s where the 20% head knowledge ends, and the 80% behavior, habits, and action kick in.
If you don’t want to die a copy… If you don’t want to die a copy, you must act to maintain your originality.
AVERAGE BY EDMUND GAUDET
Average is what the failures claim to be when their family and friends ask them why they are not more successful.
Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best. Which of these are you?
Average means being run-of-the-mill, mediocre, insignificant, an also-ran, a nonentity.
Being average is the lazy person’s cop-out; it’s lacking the guts to take a stand in life; it’s living by default.
Being average is to take up space for no purpose; to take the trip through life, but never to pay the fare; to return no interest for God’s investment in you.”
Being average is to pass one’s life away with time rather than to pass one’s time away with life; it’s to kill time rather than to work it to death.
To be average is to be forgotten once you pass from this life. The successful are remembered for their contributions; the failures are remembered because they tried, but the average, the silent majority, is just forgotten.
To be average is to commit the greatest crime one can against one’s self, humanity, and one’s God. The saddest epitaph is this: “Here lies Mr. and Ms. Average—here lie the remains of what might have been, except for their belief that they were only average.
If you’re happy where you are — or unwilling to do anything about it — that’s okay…for now. But remember, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you have now.
But if you’re ready to kick average to the side of the road, here are five things to consider.
- Your circle. If you haven’t read Your Fab 5, get the book and start to cultivate your circle. If you change your circle and life, you will change your future.
- Your attitude. Attitude is the most crucial factor in your new start, your revival, and your overall approach to life.
- Watch your mouth. No, don’t just watch it. Put a guard over it. Get rid of these words and realize there is power in what you say.
- Set boundaries. And honor those boundaries. Routine is everything, so set a time every day to work out/exercise, budget, read, write, cook, get up/go to bed. In other words, respect the game you’re playing.
- Give up! No, not on your dream. Give up believing what other people think. Give up focusing on the past. Give up the ordinary. Give up the lies that you aren’t enough, aren’t ready, or are too old or young. Focus on what can be, not what might have been!
So here’s the question for you: What do you need to give up today? What do you need to leave behind? A snake leaves behind an old skin, and you can’t put new wine into old wineskins.
Now, you have some information, and you have some new thoughts since we began. So, what decision do you need to make right now to start the journey to the next chapter? Write it down and give yourself a deadline.