Good read:
Plenty of Room at Top! It’s Crowded in the ‘Cesspool of Mediocrity’
LearntoLead, June 2010 - volume 7 - issue 6 - page 12
by Dave Anderson
Many people are under the mistaken impression that the “rat race” means that it’s crowded at the top of the success ladder. Wrong. Where you’ll find crowds are at the bottom, where hordes of people with average ambitions, abilities and attitudes fight it out for survival in a cesspool of mediocrity.
Normally, this crowd is addicted to pleasure, engaging in trivial pursuits but never getting serious about what they want or the price they’ll need to pay to get it. They spend years and sometimes decades looking for shortcuts to success: the prize without the price as they bumble and drift aimlessly waiting for life to finally step up and make them happy. The numbers of companies filled with folks fitting this description, the leaders included, are embarrassingly high!
The good news is that there is plenty of room at the top because so few people are willing to do what’s necessary to get there. In fact, the following 11 traits are inherent in the masses living mediocre lives, seduced and immobilized by an enemy called average. Consider this as an 11-point portrait of industry loafers, laggards and losers:
1. At work, they do just enough to get by, just enough to get paid and just enough not to get fired.
2. They don’t take responsibility for their failures. They blame their workplace, boss, parents, teachers, ethnic background, where they grew up, the government and their overall bad luck.
3. They assume a victim’s mentality and assert that other guys are successful because they’ve gotten the “breaks.” Unfortunately, rather than work hard, they are content to put in minimal effort and wait for their own break to show up. They spend more on lottery tickets than on books that could change their life.
4. They are serial quitters. While these folks start many things: new jobs, hobbies, diets and the like, they bail out when it gets tough.
5. The only habits they develop are bad or unproductive ones!
6. They procrastinate and live in the state of “as soon as.” “As soon as this happens, then I’ll do this or that.”
7. They talk big and have grand plans but rarely follow through.
8. They aren’t normally happy for the success of others. They’d rather bring you down than stretch up to your level.
9. They play life too safe and rarely take a mature risk. It’s easier for them to settle for average than to strive for achievement.
10. They aren’t grateful for what they have because they never think they get what they deserve.
11. They nullify their talent by making poor character choices, normally resulting from the desire to get what they want quickly.
By making a choice to reverse the eleven traits that characterize life’s "just-get-by" crowd, do the following:
1. Go the second mile. Do what is required and then some. Do it when no one else is looking.
2. Accept responsibility for your life. Renounce excuses and learn from mistakes.
3. Understand that life is not about lucky breaks, it’s about cause and effect. You’ve got to sow before you reap.
4. Develop a bigger “why” and purpose that helps pull you through the pain and discomfort of persisting so that you can achieve your goals.
5. Believe that right decisions done repeatedly compound success. Do what is right even when it’s not easy, cheap, popular or convenient and you’ll develop the discipline necessary to produce healthy habits.
6. Realize that there is never a perfect time to do something. During the course of your life you can bet that there is far more power in doing something now than later.
7. Only share your dreams with those closest to you and then run hard to reach them. Let your walk speak louder than your talk.
8. Have an abundance mentality that allows you to cheer for others because you believe there is plenty to go around for those who are willing to pay the price. Because someone else gains, doesn’t mean there’s less for you.
9. Take a shot. And if you miss, learn from it and take another one. As the Great Gretzky said, “You’ll miss 100 percent of the shots that you don’t take.”
10. Live with an attitude of gratitude because the more you’re grateful for, the more you’ll eventually have to be grateful for!
11. Make sure that your character protects your talent. Don’t sell out your integrity for short-term gain because you’ll always be found out in the long run.
Follow these steps to reach the top. But it might be lonely there so bring someone along with you on the journey!
[Emphasis Added]
Plenty of Room at Top! It’s Crowded in the ‘Cesspool of Mediocrity’
LearntoLead, June 2010 - volume 7 - issue 6 - page 12
by Dave Anderson
Many people are under the mistaken impression that the “rat race” means that it’s crowded at the top of the success ladder. Wrong. Where you’ll find crowds are at the bottom, where hordes of people with average ambitions, abilities and attitudes fight it out for survival in a cesspool of mediocrity.
Normally, this crowd is addicted to pleasure, engaging in trivial pursuits but never getting serious about what they want or the price they’ll need to pay to get it. They spend years and sometimes decades looking for shortcuts to success: the prize without the price as they bumble and drift aimlessly waiting for life to finally step up and make them happy. The numbers of companies filled with folks fitting this description, the leaders included, are embarrassingly high!
The good news is that there is plenty of room at the top because so few people are willing to do what’s necessary to get there. In fact, the following 11 traits are inherent in the masses living mediocre lives, seduced and immobilized by an enemy called average. Consider this as an 11-point portrait of industry loafers, laggards and losers:
1. At work, they do just enough to get by, just enough to get paid and just enough not to get fired.
2. They don’t take responsibility for their failures. They blame their workplace, boss, parents, teachers, ethnic background, where they grew up, the government and their overall bad luck.
3. They assume a victim’s mentality and assert that other guys are successful because they’ve gotten the “breaks.” Unfortunately, rather than work hard, they are content to put in minimal effort and wait for their own break to show up. They spend more on lottery tickets than on books that could change their life.
4. They are serial quitters. While these folks start many things: new jobs, hobbies, diets and the like, they bail out when it gets tough.
5. The only habits they develop are bad or unproductive ones!
6. They procrastinate and live in the state of “as soon as.” “As soon as this happens, then I’ll do this or that.”
7. They talk big and have grand plans but rarely follow through.
8. They aren’t normally happy for the success of others. They’d rather bring you down than stretch up to your level.
9. They play life too safe and rarely take a mature risk. It’s easier for them to settle for average than to strive for achievement.
10. They aren’t grateful for what they have because they never think they get what they deserve.
11. They nullify their talent by making poor character choices, normally resulting from the desire to get what they want quickly.
By making a choice to reverse the eleven traits that characterize life’s "just-get-by" crowd, do the following:
1. Go the second mile. Do what is required and then some. Do it when no one else is looking.
2. Accept responsibility for your life. Renounce excuses and learn from mistakes.
3. Understand that life is not about lucky breaks, it’s about cause and effect. You’ve got to sow before you reap.
4. Develop a bigger “why” and purpose that helps pull you through the pain and discomfort of persisting so that you can achieve your goals.
5. Believe that right decisions done repeatedly compound success. Do what is right even when it’s not easy, cheap, popular or convenient and you’ll develop the discipline necessary to produce healthy habits.
6. Realize that there is never a perfect time to do something. During the course of your life you can bet that there is far more power in doing something now than later.
7. Only share your dreams with those closest to you and then run hard to reach them. Let your walk speak louder than your talk.
8. Have an abundance mentality that allows you to cheer for others because you believe there is plenty to go around for those who are willing to pay the price. Because someone else gains, doesn’t mean there’s less for you.
9. Take a shot. And if you miss, learn from it and take another one. As the Great Gretzky said, “You’ll miss 100 percent of the shots that you don’t take.”
10. Live with an attitude of gratitude because the more you’re grateful for, the more you’ll eventually have to be grateful for!
11. Make sure that your character protects your talent. Don’t sell out your integrity for short-term gain because you’ll always be found out in the long run.
Follow these steps to reach the top. But it might be lonely there so bring someone along with you on the journey!
[Emphasis Added]
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