Try Choosing Mediocrity

[Stephen McCauley]

Before blasting me with comments telling me that's dumb,  hear me out....

I often hear people pushing for excellence,  pushing to do better,  be better and achieve more.  But what's wrong with mediocrity? Really, the more important question might be how do you (the literal you) define mediocrity. At the root of mediocrity is medium right?  In school we'd typically be talking about those "C students". They're not the straight A kids with their noses in the books and a drive (whether internal or from mom) to be on top but they're not the flunkies either. 

For me the pressure to be a straight A student was created by an over achiever older sister and parents who wanted me to  "live up to my potential". I hated that pressure and resented the idea that I somehow was letting people down by selling for mediocrity. I chose to be a B student because it was easy for me. 

The world is different though. Mediocrity only REALLY has any relevance in our own little microcosmic spaces. Each of our own microcosms is created by us and for us as individuals. We get to choose what role we play (hero, villain or victim... thanks David Greene) and we get to choose who plays the other 2. 

So how does all of this fit together to make a case for choosing mediocrity? Simple. Getting started in real estate can often feel like we're striving to be that straight A student that never gets less than a 98 on a test.  We hear these CRAZY awesome stories of people young and not that are killing it (at least you should be hearing them if you're listening to the podcasts). Trying to make every deal a homerun deal can be overwhelming and create a sense of hopelessness and anxiety. I know it did for me for quite a while. 

It wasn't until recently (although I've heard him say it probably 100+ times before) when I was listening to beardy Brandon and he quoted a book saying "how you do anything is how you do everything". At first I thought it was a load of crap. But I decided to mull it over a bit and do some ugly introspective investigation. I found it to be nauseatingly accurate. I like mediocrity. I liked being a B student because I didn't have to study as hard. I liked being a mediocre Marine because it allowed me thr freedom to get in a bit of trouble. Heck,  I was even a mediocre boy scout. 

But back to my previous point I was only mediocre in my microcosm. Compared to some of my friends I was a wiz kid getting good grades.  Compared to some scouts from other troops I did REALLY well.  Compared with a LOT of other Marines I was really good.

I landed on this final thought that I decided to share in hopes that it helps ONE other person. Mediocrity is NOT a bad thing. But when we have the power to create our own microcosm,  where mediocrity has its only true meaning, why not create a microcosm where mediocrity means you're a millionaire? With guys like Grant Cardone and Ken McElroy being the straight A students CRUSHING it, the mediocrity of only having a net worth in the single digit millions sounds just fine. 

For ME (and hopefully at least one other person) allowing myself to accept the idea of being mediocre to be an acceptable person has freed my thinking to expand where I see those top level performers. It's lifted a weight off my shoulders that was holding me back and I hope it can do the same for you.