10 replies
Anyone seen this article?

I really like the tangible, 3 Dimensional and very kinesthetic terms of "Sustained Mediocrity" and ""Protecting" and "Maintaining" the "Level of Mediocrity" analogies.


What I think is missing is that THAT is exactly what they teach in school from K to College, even some "so-called" business and wealth advisors.

You either have to have been home raised to think out the herd, be mentored or have something inside you to hunger for something more AND perceive that something is wrong with whats typically accepted as normal......., which usually brings the realization that the answer is outside the normal, everyday box that people have been "corn-fed" and farmed to believe all their life.



http://www.nmoa.org/news/tips/whydopeoplefail.asp




The 13th Warrior
#mediocrity #sustained
  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    That's an interesting article. The way the author uses the term mediocrity, it could easily be replaced with security and you'd have one of the fundamental wealth principles T Harv Eker defines in Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. If you haven't read it, I think you might like it based on your interest in this article.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidkimball
    Mediocrity is the killer of innovation ............................ the spirit .................... and profits.
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    • Profile picture of the author ExRat
      Hi 13th,

      Slightly drifting off-topic, but Jim's article and your comments reminded me of this song that I love that mentions 'institutionalised mediocrity' amongst other things.

      Middle Class Heroes

      Snippet -

      I see unspeakable vulgarity
      institutionalised mediocrity
      infinite tragedy
      Rise up little souls - join the doomed army
      Fight the good fight - wage the unwinnable war
      Elegance against ignorance
      Difference against indifference
      Wit against s**t
      You said -

      You either have to have been home raised to think out the herd, be mentored or have something inside you to hunger for something more AND perceive that something is wrong with whats typically accepted as normal......., which usually brings the realization that the answer is outside the normal, everyday box that people have been "corn-fed" and farmed to believe all their life.
      Great point. I think this is why people/society are/is so interesting - those who 'fall through the cracks' often end up producing the brightest ideas. It's all about perspective, and if everyone had the same perspective, we would probably all be mediocre.

      It's interesting to consider that in general, society pressures people to conform and be 'normal'. Yet normality is probably the saddest waste of a life.
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      Roger Davis

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      • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
        Originally Posted by ExRat View Post



        Slightly drifting off-topic, but Jim's article and your comments reminded me of this song that I love that mentions 'institutionalised mediocrity' amongst other things.


        "Institutionalized Mediocrity"...., now that is a great, descriptive term.

        Because what the average person knows and accepts as reality has a big deal to do with how the institutions( schools ) teach you WHAT is the definition of success and how to get it.

        Parents are taught from these same schools, which simply reinforces what has been taught, so how can a kid have a chance to go outside the box?

        How can he have a chance to KNOW that he is IN a box?

        How does he know what exactly IS a box in the first place?

        How does he have the chance to know that their is a universe of reality OUTSIDE the box?

        How does he have the chance to know that he can CREATE his OWN box , different than what he has been taught to shoot for?


        Education or "being" Educated: to acquire the necessary knowledge to create and/or build from NOTHING.

        So if a persons opinion of themselves or others is that is a "knowledgeable" and "educated" individual, but can't build anything on his/her own, can't create anything on his/her own, then what does that person truly have?

        So if a kid goes thru K to College, secures a PH.D, Associates Degree, a Masters Degree, a Bachelors Degree, and he/she is LOOKING for a job , having a strained time of life and can't find work or a Y-O-B............,

        ......IS THAT PERSON EDUCATED???!!??

        Just a rhetorical question, I know the answer.

        There simply needs to be a condensed resource(s) of combating limitations and mediocrity..., that job was supposed to go to schools, to unearth hidden talents and teach HOW to think, not WHAT to think.

        Probably why The Warrior Forum has lots of merits of what a community of knowledge supposed to elicit......institutions need to take note.






        Originally Posted by ExRat View Post



        It's interesting to consider that in general, society pressures people to conform and be 'normal'. Yet normality is probably the saddest waste of a life.


        Thats where I go off the deep end into conspiracy.

        Historically, people with "different" ideas from what is considered normal or acceptable have been shunned, ostracized , bankrupted, blacklisted, bought out, die under suspect circumstances, shamed, and it usually the public doing it at the prompting behest of the powers that be.


        Despite everyone's mother and uncle "talking up" the aspirations of "freedom" , it does some or many good to "farm" as many people and entities as possible to have a monopoly on power in their field , cut down on competition AND shut down as many possibilities and opportunities to challenge those that benefit from such practices.

        Some who achieve success as a result of freedom, then now, some in that position put up a ceiling , borderlines and parameters as to what freedom is, because they are on top.

        But if freedom for others requires a more evolved methodology, those that are free NOW and were freed by previous established parameters now consider anything else a threat and define those who are not in perfect step to the norms as USURPERS of freedom, as though freedom is some static principle.

        Odd and a view into the true soul of some......yes, the necessity of "Institutionalized Mediocrity", indeed.

        As one example, everyone knows there are inventions that have been created that can change the world overnight, yet, they are in some vault bought out by some mega-corp or other entity..., these were created by those who went beyond "institutionalized mediocrity" of both acceptable principles of science and stretched their own limitations.

        Another example of what is accepted as "normal" is a person that is supposed to be an economics professor, yet, maybe he is not a millionaire..., ok..., but he is not even financially independent of ANY job.

        These are the experts?

        He can be called something else, but cannot and should not be called a professor of economics if he is not at least financially independent of a job.

        Sorry, something is wrong with that picture and "these" are the "experts" that pundits and problem evaluators source for solutions to problems.

        Problems not gone, still here.

        If there was an honest contest between entrepreneurs HERE and elsewhere vs the best Economics Professor in the world, it would be odds of 1-20 favoring entrepreneurs.

        The business builders, job creators, teachers and product creators are entrepreneurs.

        Stimulus went to the wrong direction., to The Wizard of Oz.

        Mediocrity cannot be combated if one does not uproot its sources and whats feeding it, besides the individuals own slacker tendencies.

        The 13th Warrior
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        • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
          Originally Posted by The 13th Warrior View Post

          Because what the average person knows and accepts as reality has a big deal to do with how the institutions (schools) teach you WHAT is the definition of success and how to get it.
          There are exceptions, but most schools are designed to train people to take their place and co-exist within existing system, which naturally nurtures mediocrity, but schools aren't the only institutions that encourage mediocrity. In many ways religions, government, mainstream media, and big business all work toward creating a dumbed-down, not-too-ambitious citizenry.

          Parents are taught from these same schools, which simply reinforces what has been taught, so how can a kid have a chance to go outside the box?

          How can he have a chance to KNOW that he is IN a box?

          How does he know what exactly IS a box in the first place?

          How does he have the chance to know that their is a universe of reality OUTSIDE the box?

          How does he have the chance to know that he can CREATE his OWN box , different than what he has been taught to shoot for?
          All the "box" talk reminds me of an old song written by Malvina Reynolds titled, Little Boxes:
          And the people in the houses
          All went to the university,
          Where they were put in boxes
          And they came out all the same,
          And there's doctors and lawyers,
          And business executives,
          And they're all made out of ticky tacky
          And they all look just the same.
          Historically, people with "different" ideas from what is considered normal or acceptable have been shunned, ostracized , bankrupted, blacklisted, bought out, die under suspect circumstances, shamed, and it usually the public doing it at the prompting behest of the powers that be.
          I like what Albert Einstein says about that...
          "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thoughts in clear form."
          Mediocrity cannot be combated if one does not uproot its sources and whats feeding it, besides the individuals own slacker tendencies.
          Of course, if not for institutionalized mediocrity there wouldn't be enough "worker bees" to run the machineries of modern society, so in the end it may be good that most people are comfortable in their little boxes. The information to break free is out there if someone has enough initiative to look. Perhaps it should be made easier to find. Perhaps it should be mandatory education, then those who remain in their little boxes do so of their own conscious choosing. Perhaps it's inevitable no matter what is done.
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          • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
            Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post


            Perhaps it's inevitable no matter what is done.

            To each individual, maybe, but in the grand scheme of things , no, if you are I stop, that will not stop evolution and growth, those that chose that are simply cannon fodder, the wheat separates from the chaff.

            Although chaff can never be wheat, the unique thing about being human is the supreme power of choice in which ALL chaff, in this case, can choose to be and potentially BE wheat, that is what makes humans potentially infinite.

            Mediocrity is to either to simply settle, whether you are perfectly content and happy or not, or to simply stop growing and challenging your limitations.....

            .......mediocrity is simply saying "I'm off this train, HERE, I will not keep going...," whether one is happy or not.

            Mediocrity is kind of a crime because the human mind potential and infinite possibilities , to this day with technology and all, has yet to even scratch the surface of what can be imagined or done.

            Mediocrity, one simply decides to stop and go no further, protecting and securing their FINAL submission to inertia.

            The 13th Warrior
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          • Profile picture of the author Kev Stevenson
            Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

            mainstream media, and big business all work toward creating a dumbed-down, not-too-ambitious citizenry.
            Hi Dennis & all...

            We are seeing an exception to this with all the 'pop idol' type rubbish on TV nowadays.

            People expecting to be special/famous without first gaining the skills/knowledge etc required to stand out.

            A school I where I worked seemed to be trying to teach the kids to be tycoons...

            If you asked one of these kids "What are you going to do when you leave?". A stock answer was "Start a business!"
            "Oh, doing what?"
            "I don't know! Just start a business!"

            No-one seemed to have told them told them that it would involve actually making and/or selling something, be it a product, a skill, a talent.

            They just saw it as easier than working or learning!

            I see the same thing on WF everyday with budding IM'ers :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author Simon Lim
    It's interesting to think that so many people don't ever realise what they are actually capable of because they're too comfortable and too afraid to leave their current "level of mediocrity."

    Reminds me of someone talking about people leading lives of quiet desperation. Just being herded through the system, perhaps wanting something else but just not having enough in them to go after it.

    I love the analogy of charging up and down the hill.

    Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Ah, 13th Warrior...

    After living a goodly number of years and reading a goodly number
    of things, I conclude we each make damn sure we do not become
    mediocre. And also make sure we keep our wits and awareness
    razor sharp.

    You can see the larger picture for what it is.

    I firmly believe our educational system exists in its current form for
    a reason. More than one reason, in fact, and in my opinion. Some of
    those in power, real power, do not want the masses of humanity to
    think too much, be too creative, ask too many questions, etc.

    They do not want everyone to have the different qualities that an
    entrepreneur has. And truthfully, they don't have to worry about that
    happening.

    But I believe you're off the mark just a little about the economics
    professors of the world. I guess it would be great if they could run a
    successful ppc campaign and sell lots of CB products. lol. But they're
    educators of certain things. Not all educators believe in, or like, the
    current situation as it exists in schools. I know this because I have a
    relative who's a professor in a respected university. Trust me, I've
    heard the pain.

    And consider this...

    If all changed and mediocrity, as it exists today, vanished. Then there
    would simply evolve a new kind of mediocrity and you and all of us would
    be right in the middle of it!

    Then we would have to evolve to rise out of it - AGAIN! lol.
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    • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
      Originally Posted by KenThompson View Post



      But I believe you're off the mark just a little about the economics
      professors of the world. I guess it would be great if they could run a
      successful ppc campaign and sell lots of CB products. lol. But they're
      educators of certain things. Not all educators believe in, or like, the
      current situation as it exists in schools. I know this because I have a
      relative who's a professor in a respected university. Trust me, I've
      heard the pain.


      I have to "friendly like" disagree , but respect your opinion.

      No disrespect to your kin and all, but like I said before, they should be called something else.

      Here are some helpful titles for professors, so that future prospects and potential students of such class will understand EXACTLY the use of such knowledge in the real world:

      1) Professor of Economic HISTORY

      2) Professor of Economic Archeology

      3) Economic Archeologist

      4 Economic Statistician

      5) Economic Journalist

      ......just for starters.


      Number #1 qualification and Mandatory for anyone to legally have the title as:

      Economic Professor = Financially Independent of any Job.


      Number #2 minimum qualifications : income created was from entrepreneur enterprises, not as an employee.............

      .........because if that were not the case, I think the guy that got a BILLION dollar bonus, in ADDITION to his salary, as ceo of some health insurance company, should be able to outright take ANYONE'S "Professor of Economics" job without question or any legal consequences.

      Again, sincerely and seriously, with absolutely NO disrespect to your kinfolk there, but if either was offering a class or lecture in economics, it would be no contest as to who would have the weight of tangibility.


      The 13th Warrior
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