“It is a wretched taste to be gratified with mediocrity when the excellent lies before us.” – Isaac D’Israeli
Warning: This is the type of post that will have many people who agree and subsequently many who disagree with what I’m saying. Fortunately, my job isn’t to be liked by everyone but to give valuable information to those who are uninformed.
The entire system that you are brainwashed into from whatever developed country you are in is set up for you to have a mediocre life. It doesn’t set you up for failure, so that is not what I am saying. It doesn’t set you up to be good or great in life either. We have been trained to believe that by going to school, getting good grades, getting a good job, and working to receive a pension is a good life. Scrap that junk. That is a MEDIOCRE life.
Here are a few things that will determine whether or not you will be living a mediocre life. If you have any of these, aim to change it and level up.
Your Grades Represent Your Success
What is the first thing that you are graded on as a human? Studying hard and getting good grades – this is the first perceived success.
How crazy is that?
I was raised in private, catholic, and public school systems. The level of excellence dwindles in that exact order. Firstly, in private school as a youth, I was learning French, Math (multiplication, division, etc.), History, and a plethora of things in KINDERGARTEN. I was getting A’s in these classes by the way. These things would generally be taught to students many years after Kindergarten in a public school setting.
Then I moved on to public school, which was great socially, but it was slowing me down in terms of the way teachers would engage the students. Later in high school, I was in Catholic school and it got slightly better. The point of the matter is that – sorry to say it – public schools train students to be dumb. They teach you how to do the bare minimum in order to go to a mediocre school, have a mediocre job, and ultimately a mediocre life.
I give a great amount of credit to specific teachers I have had who were aware of this and ensured that their teaching style combatted this in order to push their students to excellence. I had an English teacher in grade 12 I believe that in essence had her own curriculum. She gave us university work and marked us accordingly. She stated that she will not mark us as high school students because the way they teach in university is different than high school and we need to be prepared. Other teachers would mark our work like we had no sense.
To keep this point short, basing your success on graduating high school or university is troublesome because you really haven’t done anything! You busted your butt, and I will give you that. But to make it seem like a success should depress you. You worked hard for four or five years for $100k tuition depending on your program, and you left with a sheet of paper and possibly high student loans. You are now celebrating your success of graduating and having to find a job in a market that has thousands of people like you.
The key word here is JOB.
You will never be your own employee because you will not start your own business. It puts people down knowing that they are destined to work for someone and that is supposedly their only option. It is like you’re being told that you are not smart enough to start a business. You MUST start your own business if you do not want to be mediocre. I will not go more into starting your own business because this post will be way too long. Just know that you are capable of being your own boss.
For those who want to be a doctor, a lawyer, and others of the sort, yes, you need school. If going to university makes sense, go to university. Taking Gender Studies in university, on the other hand, is a joke. But just to say “go to college for a good job” isn’t enough. That’s a bs assumption as there is no guarantee of a good job once you leave school. When I was in my teens, I had people in their late 20s working with me making $12/hr because they couldn’t find a job in their field. That degree was definitely worth the $100k right?
Your 401k and Pension Are Your Destinations
This is what happens after going to school and finding a mediocre job. You are now a part of the rat race and your only way out is when you retire at 65. What a good age to start enjoying life! Is this the best thing to do?
You have worked for 40+ years and now you have $2,611 a month coming in if you are lucky. Is that REALLY what you are working towards? Most people, unfortunately, have no outside investments other than their 401k and pension. That is what you call living a great life? Is this really the best thing to do? Don’t get me wrong, these things have their place. You should only put away as much money in your 401k or RRSP (in Canada) that your company matches. However, anything past that isn’t worth it. If you are someone who doesn’t care about investing , do that. But a 401k or a pension is worthless. Invest your money yourself wisely and do better.
I am only 21 years old but I have already started investing myself in various areas in order to build my OWN pension. I am in control of when I start spending that money or spending the interest. My self-made pension is set in such a way that if I want to retire tomorrow, I can. It is also set in such a way that I can live off the interest and dividends I acquire monthly and the millions of dollars in my principal investment can be sold to my future kids or they can live off of it as well while continuing the family businesses or starting their own. THAT, my friends, is called controlling your life, not being controlled.
You Are Fearful of Your Managers and Bosses
The first word that many of us said as a baby was “no”, yet as we get older, we feel as if we do not have the power to say no to people. Especially our bosses and managers.
I have worked in many places in my teenage years to present. There has never been a shortage of people who were legitimately afraid to ask their managers for a day off or even to go to the bathroom. These people are what I call “life-long employees”. They have no balls and they are 100% trained to be ordered around until their death. They were controlled by their parents because they clothed and fed them, controlled by teachers because thy needed good grades to get into the schools of their liking, and now they are controlled by their management because their only source of surviving is through a paycheck.
This is what accepted institutionalized wisdom sets you up for: to be controlled and subordinate.
I am not saying to be a rebel and fight everyone who tells you to do anything. I am saying that you should know your value and no that no matter who is in front of you, they bleed the same blood as you and they are no greater than you. This is why the Queen herself could be placed in front of me and I would not be afraid of her power, but rather respect it.
I believe in energies and I believe that the way you perceive yourself, others will perceive you accordingly. I believe in myself to the greatest capacity and I do not see myself being a subordinate to anyone; whether they are my boss or not. Because of this genuine respect and high expectation for myself, managers in the past have had either fear of me or respect for me.
Many have feared my capabilities and have tried to put me down in order to be amongst the others who feared them but many have also respected me gravely and have put me on the same level as themselves. You will come across both types of leaders in your life when you are a confident being who takes no bs and will not be disrespected.
Once again, I am not saying that you should be disrespectful to those with formal authority of you, but rather have self-respect for yourself, not fear of those in power. In building your self-respect while conquering those in power and those amongst you, I recommend you to read the 48 Laws of Power. This is one of the books I recommended in my list of top authors if you want to be rich. Completing that book will set you up for greatness, not mediocrity. No bs.
There are plenty more ways to ensure that you are living a mediocre life. Traveling, starting a business, being choosy with friends, and not letting other people’s opinions control you are a few of them, but this post has run its course. There are many ways to live a grandiose life, which I outline in my eBook, 50 Rules for 50 Fools.
I urge you to take notes on how you are living your life and how you perceive yourself. If you see yourself as a failure and one who will not do anything great, others will see it as well. To be great, you must believe that you are great. Notice how your life changes when you see yourself as capable, rather than incapable.
Until next time,
Live Long and Prosperous.
J.M.
Wealthy Fools 