[quote]Vegita wrote:
[quote]imhungry wrote:
I’m so mediocre, that i’m mediocre in my mediocrity.
Therefore, I am unable to assess what success is, since mediocrity is the norm.[/quote]
Who you kidding, You are elite! Post count OVER 10,000! Be proud brother and revel in your elite status.
V[/quote]
I think we should point out he did it in under 2 yrs
Joe Walsh FTW!!
who gives a fuck
I am successful every day of my life because I succeed to do what I want.If you want to work at wal-mart you are successful at working at wal-mart. I succeed at failing at school because that’s what I chose to do.
by the way I think personnal ambition and wanting to have a good social position is the root of evil. Existence is still the same, the laws of nature are still the same and you havent won anything. The problem of existence isnt solved. So who gives a shit? If you think that now you have a good income and have a lot of material you are ‘‘successful’’ you are alienated.
Meidocrity has a moral/philosophical connotation. It implies complacency and an actual desire to be like most people as opposed to standing out. In the context of work, mediocrity is when you justify getting stuck at a job of mundane drudgery that pays shit by the reasoning that most people do the same, so you should too. In the context of physicality, mediocrity is letting yourself go and justifying it by reasoning that since most people are fat and lazy, it’s OK for you to be in pitiful condition, too. A driven bodybuilder of any caliber defies mediocrity because he’s motivated by the fact that most people don’t have good physiques. He wants to be rare.
Mediocrity does not necessarily mean being a failure. If you risk everything you have to pursue a noble achievement, then fail and lose everything, you aren’t mediocre, you just failed in spectacular fashion.
[quote]jasmincar wrote:
I succeed at failing at school because that’s what I chose to do.[/quote]
I thought you did well in school, no?
While I get what you are saying, it is just that I haven’t smoked dope in like 4 or 5 years, so all the hippy in me died.
Not everyone that is ambitious is going to hurt or put down others to get there. Are there plenty of people without integrity? Sure. Is everyone that “made-it” a doucher? No way.
I mean I want to make bank, and have a higher social status than where I came from, but I also choose to do what I do because I help other people live their dreams for a living. It pays me well, and I enjoy it. I don’t step on people, lie or mistreat anyone, and still make a pretty good living for my age, and background.
I don’t know. I’m definitely in the upper percentile of ambition, maybe I’m a scum bag and don’t know it. 
I mean I can be an ultra prick to work for, if you are dumb. But if you can think, we will kick ass.
[quote]jasmincar wrote:
who gives a fuck
I am successful every day of my life because I succeed to do what I want.If you want to work at wal-mart you are successful at working at wal-mart. I succeed at failing at school because that’s what I chose to do.
by the way I think personnal ambition and wanting to have a good social position is the root of evil. Existence is still the same, the laws of nature are still the same and you havent won anything. The problem of existence isnt solved. So who gives a shit? If you think that now you have a good income and have a lot of material you are ‘‘successful’’ you are alienated.[/quote]
You missed the point…this thread isn’t about people like you.
^
I do well in school but that’s not the point. Sure ambition is not always evil, I mean I want to fulfill my strenght potential and I enjoy the road but it only concern myself and it sure makes me a happier man . Things gets ugly when you are doing it for a social status or because of your huge ego
I think we need to shift the focus of this thread a little. A lot of people write off wealth or talent as a measurement of someone’s status. I believe mediocrity is an issue of mindset. Anyone can become good at anything with varying degrees of practice. However it is the concept of “forced practice” which ultimately makes a person extraordinary.
What made Jimi Hendrix a master of guitar? Certainly a lot of practice. But there are many people who practice a lot. We all know that person who practices/studies/invests/works a lot, yet doesn’t seem to get any better. While they may certainly be good, maybe even great at what they do, their mind hasn’t completely devoted itself to breaking through their personal limitations. Exactly what this is is impossible to know for sure, because everyone is different, and you can only know your own self for sure. What we do know is that extraordinary people invest the time to forcefully hammer out those scales, no matter how difficult or frustrating they may be.
One of the key concepts of this website is to stop the excuses, and just do it. Do it until you get what you want, then go farther. Anyone can be extraordinary, but only few have the self discipline to do what it takes. One who is satisfied with where they are and goes no further is, dare I say, . . . mediocre?
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Well obviously you value people soley by how much money they earn. [/quote]
I’m sorry, you got this idea from what? Because I stated that most people wouldn’t cinsider someone making 6 figures a year to have a mediocre profession this means I ONLY value people for money?
What type of fucked up logic is that?
You are around people who think making over 100K a year equals “mediocre” as far as a profession?
[quote]
Earning a lot of money doesn’t mean you are above average. It may mean you have above average wealth or earning potential, but you may not actually do anything any better than anyone else, you may have had opportunities present themselves which allowed you to earn more. [/quote]
Actually, I specifically mentioned jobs with very high levels of skill involved. How the hell you keep ONLY seeing money here is beyond me. Perhaps I am typing too fast.
How about you quit making shit up?
Let me ask this, You have two people who cook. Person A cooks “comfort” food (burgers, mac and cheese, chili, meat loaf…you get the idea) and person B cooks “gourmet” food (lobster rockefeller, beef wellington, souffle…ect)
Neither one owns their own restaurant but both are considered to be at the top of their game. Is one more mediocre than the other one?
[quote]Soulja874 wrote:
Let me ask this, You have two people who cook. Person A cooks “comfort” food (burgers, mac and cheese, chili, meat loaf…you get the idea) and person B cooks “gourmet” food (lobster rockefeller, beef wellington, souffle…ect)
Neither one owns their own restaurant but both are considered to be at the top of their game. Is one more mediocre than the other one?[/quote]
I don’t know if one is more mediocre than the other, but one has a higher level of skill than the other.
I think mediocrity is not pushing your limits or even bothering to seek you potential. Some people have a higher potential than others in certain areas. It’s a genetic crap shoot coupled with an environmental crap shoot.
Is a person who was born with a 160 IQ and had a stable family with wealthy parents who were able to pull strings to get him into Harvard better than a person who was born with a 120 IQ and grew up in an inner city neighborhood getting physically and emotionally abused every day, but rises from the circumstance, goes to community college and graduates from a state school?
Who had the harder journey? Who had to sacrifice and overcome more adversity?
I don’t have a college degree, but I own several businesses, have successful mortgage career, have a very respectable real estate portfolio (that has a POSITIVE cash flow, I might add) and I assure you that I am just as well read and earn as much as many doctors and lawyers… but I am also a felon and I’m divorced. Does that automatically strike me from the successful list?
Success is an ATTITUDE. If you strive to move in a positive direction, consciously evolving in what ever area is important to you, be it baking or ballroom dancing, you are successful in my book. At least you have the balls to follow your dreams and what is important to you. At the end of the day, each of us has to look in the mirror and ask if we gave it our best. Some of us don’t bother to ask and those are the poor souls who, to quote Roosevelt, will know neither victory nor defeat.
Some of the most successful people I have know lost EVERYTHING in the last two years. Some of them are crying about it, and some of them got up, dusted themselves off and started building again…
It’s the ATTITUDE and the JOURNEY that counts, IMHO.
Why is this still going? Brick meant that the bell curve applies to all individuals in a selective group, given enough size. The “skill” and group being observed can change, but a normal distribution will still be observed. Basically he’s saying, “Somebody’s gotta come in 2nd through last place.”
Not that crazy.
Having skipped have of this wonderful discussions, given my delicate late-night sensibilities, I’d have to say that the mediocre 99.9% exist to drive and differentiate the .1% of the exemplary. After all, everyone would be mediocre if everyone was exemplary…that is, the whole, “You’re special, just like everyone else,” thing.
Of course, the topic of the thread is what’s wrong with being ordinary and mediocre, I’d say nothing at all. Assuming mediocre/ordinary means “around average, or less,” I’d say there’s that whole romance of the everyman who keeps on drudging along despite the tedium and mediocrity of his life.
Wait… but most types of stories involving and everyman involves breaking out of the tedium of the norm. Hm.
I guess I’m trying to say that there’s nothing wrong with being average-ish, as long as you keep trudging along and doing your duty and responsibility. But of course, that may as well be my typical asian culture talking.
tl;dr: long-winded self-defeating post that adds very little to this discussion.
Money has nothing to do with success or mediocrity. I’m sure many of you know a resident lucky dumbass that earns a decent amount of money.
Sucess to me is case sensetive. Lets take some examples:
Rich Stock Broker/Investor: Earns 3 million dollars average per year by knowledgeably moving around his assets through different marekets, as well as keeping a keen eye on trends, laws, and popular societal movements. Most would consider this career choice as hard, brain caging, and highly stressful. Sucess right?
But the stock broker has 3 kids he never sees, whom are all being raised by a nanny. These kids grow up to resent their father, obtain a drug addiction, and often act out in other ways due to the lack of attention from their parent. The father never retires and still works until he dies, while living a life of luxury. Still successful?
Factory Worker: This man earns 30,000 - 40,000 dollars a year, depending on how long he is laid off for during slow months. His job is unstable, and he lives paycheck to paycheck. He has no college degree and dropped out of school to join the U.S. Army at 17 years old to serve in WW2. He returns home to the aforementioned job, to which he works the first shift. Mediocre right? He comes home to a wife and 3 kids every day at 4 o clock, and even though they barely make ends meet, the family is consistently happy. He sees them often, which enables them to go to him for advice and for him to teach them virtue and moral standards. The kids grow up and go to college, each obtaining a career that they envisioned themselves doing. At a certain age, the father retires and has a meager pension, still paycheck to paycheck. Successful?
Success is case sensetive. Perhaps the rich guy thinks he is successful because of his aquired wealth and high standard of living. Perhaps the Middle-class guy thinks he is successful because he is happy with his family and has raised honorable children.
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
[quote]Soulja874 wrote:
Let me ask this, You have two people who cook. Person A cooks “comfort” food (burgers, mac and cheese, chili, meat loaf…you get the idea) and person B cooks “gourmet” food (lobster rockefeller, beef wellington, souffle…ect)
Neither one owns their own restaurant but both are considered to be at the top of their game. Is one more mediocre than the other one?[/quote]
I don’t know if one is more mediocre than the other, but one has a higher level of skill than the other. [/quote]
Who has more skill and why?
My dad makes well over $150K a year and is still one of the worst mediocrites I’ve ever seen. He has a specialized education in an obscure field of engineering which allows him to avoid the competition he would face doing almost anything else.
While I respect that he has a good career, and that he likes what he does, the basic mentality of seeking safety and security over a fight pervades every other area of his life, and it hurts to watch.
[quote]Sarev0k wrote:
Money has nothing to do with success or mediocrity. I’m sure many of you know a resident lucky dumbass that earns a decent amount of money.
Sucess to me is case sensetive. Lets take some examples:
Rich Stock Broker/Investor: Earns 3 million dollars average per year by knowledgeably moving around his assets through different marekets, as well as keeping a keen eye on trends, laws, and popular societal movements. Most would consider this career choice as hard, brain caging, and highly stressful. Sucess right?
But the stock broker has 3 kids he never sees, whom are all being raised by a nanny. These kids grow up to resent their father, obtain a drug addiction, and often act out in other ways due to the lack of attention from their parent. The father never retires and still works until he dies, while living a life of luxury. Still successful?
Factory Worker: This man earns 30,000 - 40,000 dollars a year, depending on how long he is laid off for during slow months. His job is unstable, and he lives paycheck to paycheck. He has no college degree and dropped out of school to join the U.S. Army at 17 years old to serve in WW2. He returns home to the aforementioned job, to which he works the first shift. Mediocre right? He comes home to a wife and 3 kids every day at 4 o clock, and even though they barely make ends meet, the family is consistently happy. He sees them often, which enables them to go to him for advice and for him to teach them virtue and moral standards. The kids grow up and go to college, each obtaining a career that they envisioned themselves doing. At a certain age, the father retires and has a meager pension, still paycheck to paycheck. Successful?
Success is case sensetive. Perhaps the rich guy thinks he is successful because of his aquired wealth and high standard of living. Perhaps the Middle-class guy thinks he is successful because he is happy with his family and has raised honorable children.[/quote]
This is wrong. It’s a false dichotomy and a false indictment of rich people. How many working class families do you know that are really that happy? I have more respect for parents who work hard and maintain their identities as individuals than parents who give themselves up to become martyrs for their children.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
[quote]Sarev0k wrote:
Money has nothing to do with success or mediocrity. I’m sure many of you know a resident lucky dumbass that earns a decent amount of money.
Sucess to me is case sensetive. Lets take some examples:
Rich Stock Broker/Investor: Earns 3 million dollars average per year by knowledgeably moving around his assets through different marekets, as well as keeping a keen eye on trends, laws, and popular societal movements. Most would consider this career choice as hard, brain caging, and highly stressful. Sucess right?
But the stock broker has 3 kids he never sees, whom are all being raised by a nanny. These kids grow up to resent their father, obtain a drug addiction, and often act out in other ways due to the lack of attention from their parent. The father never retires and still works until he dies, while living a life of luxury. Still successful?
Factory Worker: This man earns 30,000 - 40,000 dollars a year, depending on how long he is laid off for during slow months. His job is unstable, and he lives paycheck to paycheck. He has no college degree and dropped out of school to join the U.S. Army at 17 years old to serve in WW2. He returns home to the aforementioned job, to which he works the first shift. Mediocre right? He comes home to a wife and 3 kids every day at 4 o clock, and even though they barely make ends meet, the family is consistently happy. He sees them often, which enables them to go to him for advice and for him to teach them virtue and moral standards. The kids grow up and go to college, each obtaining a career that they envisioned themselves doing. At a certain age, the father retires and has a meager pension, still paycheck to paycheck. Successful?
Success is case sensetive. Perhaps the rich guy thinks he is successful because of his aquired wealth and high standard of living. Perhaps the Middle-class guy thinks he is successful because he is happy with his family and has raised honorable children.[/quote]
This is wrong. It’s a false dichotomy and a false indictment of rich people. How many working class families do you know that are really that happy? I have more respect for parents who work hard and maintain their identities as individuals than parents who give themselves up to become martyrs for their children.
[/quote]
Belligerent:
You’ve piqued my interest.
What do you mean by “maintain identities” versus “become martyrs for children”. What do those terms mean? I think I have a clue, but I’m not sure what you mean.
This could turn into a great discussion if one gets past the initial ostracision associated with the term “mediocre” on this site.
Mediocre is being used very subjectively in this discussion
Definitions of mediocre on the Web:
* moderate to inferior in quality; "they improved the quality from mediocre to above average"
* average: lacking exceptional quality or ability; "a novel of average merit"; "only a fair performance of the sonata"; "in fair health"; "the caliber of the students has gone from mediocre to above average"; "the performance was middling at best"
* poor to middling in quality; "there have been good and mediocre and bad artists"
with regards to many different fields there can be mediocrity and success all in the same individual
Sure you may like Dave Matthews band, go to school for business management, drive a Civic, wear abercrombie and such and the outside hipster type may say “oh that guy is so mediocre” while you could be going to the olympics for curling? Is that mediocre
It is fair to assess to yourself what YOU consider mediocre and also what SOCIETY considers mediocre and they can be two different definitions. There is an answer to this but I dont believe its found on a forum, its found within ones self