Why Most People Will Remain in Mediocrity

Summary

The video script challenges the allure of mediocrity, emphasizing that success is elusive for those unwilling to embrace failure and learn from it. It advocates for prioritizing personal growth over seeking external validation, titles, or material gains. The speaker encourages viewers to believe in their potential, take risks, and focus on self-education to break free from the 'mediocre majority' and achieve a fulfilling, extraordinary life.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Most people struggle to achieve true success due to the strong pull towards mediocrity and a small-minded mindset.
• 🏆 The fear of failure is a major barrier to growth, as it prevents individuals from learning from their mistakes and developing further.
• 💡 Embracing failure and viewing it as a learning opportunity is crucial for personal growth and success.
• 📚 Prioritizing learning and self-education over entertainment and distraction can lead to significant personal and professional development.
• 🌱 Growth accelerates when you step out of your comfort zone and expose yourself to challenges and potential failures.
• 👀 Negative feedback, when embraced, can be a powerful tool for improvement and should not be feared.
• 🚀 Believing in your ability to achieve extraordinary success is the first step towards making it a reality.
• 📈 Success often comes from focusing on personal transformation and experiential learning, rather than external validation or titles.
• 🏃‍♂️ Leaving the crowd and choosing self-education over entertainment can lead to less competition and more opportunities for life-changing experiences.
• 🔑 Jealousy and comparison with others can be detrimental to personal growth; focusing on your own path and development is key.
• 🌈 Choosing personal growth, learning, and success over mediocrity can lead to a more fulfilling and exciting life.

Q & A

What does the script suggest is the main reason most people never achieve true success?

The script suggests that the main reason most people never achieve true success is the pull towards mediocrity, which is too strong. This is due to small-minded thinking and an environment that encourages competition and manipulation rather than personal growth and learning.

According to David Schwartz, what is the environment trying to pull people towards?

David Schwartz, as quoted in the script, suggests that the environment is trying to pull people down to 'Second-Class Street,' implying a life of mediocrity and average achievements.

Why do people end up fighting for scraps with the other 99% according to the script?

People end up fighting for scraps with the other 99% because they are overly concerned with 'beating the other guy' through manipulation and politics, rather than focusing on their own growth and development.

What is the key to escaping the pull of mediocrity as suggested in the script?

The key to escaping the pull of mediocrity, as suggested in the script, is to turn away from the safety and security of the crowd and to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.

How does the script describe the relationship between failure and success?

The script describes failure as not being the enemy of success, but rather a necessary part of it. Embracing failure and learning from mistakes is essential for growth and ultimately leads to success.

What did Thomas J. Watson suggest as a formula for success?

Thomas J. Watson suggested doubling your rate of failure as a formula for success. He emphasized that failure should be seen as an opportunity to learn and grow, rather than something to be avoided.

Why does the script recommend seeking criticism instead of praise?

The script recommends seeking criticism instead of praise because it helps individuals to identify areas for improvement and growth. Embracing the possibility of failure and criticism opens up pathways to enormous success.

What is the main reason most people choose entertainment and distraction over learning and growing, as per the script?

Most people choose entertainment and distraction over learning and growing because learning is hard and requires effort and dedication. The script suggests that the majority prefer the easy path, leaving less competition for those who choose to learn and grow.

How does the script define 'extraordinary' and what is required to become extraordinary?

The script defines 'extraordinary' as being willing to fail a lot, embrace criticism, and prioritize learning and self-education. It requires a shift in mindset from seeking external validation to focusing on personal growth and transformation.

What is the script's advice on how to deal with jealousy and comparison?

The script advises to cut out jealousy and focus on personal growth instead. It suggests that being jealous and resentful is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die, emphasizing the importance of staying in one's own lane and focusing on self-improvement.

What is the ultimate goal according to the script, and how can one achieve it?

The ultimate goal, according to the script, is to achieve personal transformation and paradigm-shifting experiences. Success will naturally follow if one prioritizes learning, self-education, and personal growth over chasing titles and external validation.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Overcoming Mediocrity and Embracing Failure

The first paragraph discusses the challenges of achieving success in a world that often pulls individuals towards mediocrity. It emphasizes the importance of breaking free from the crowd and not being afraid of failure. The text highlights that most people are overly concerned with competition and manipulation, which leads them to settle for less. It suggests that success can be achieved by doubling the rate of failure, as failure is not the enemy but a teacher. The author shares his personal experience of being afraid of negative feedback, which hindered his growth until he embraced the possibility of failure. The paragraph also encourages prioritizing learning and self-education over entertainment and distraction, and highlights the benefits of doing so, such as less competition for life-changing opportunities.

05:00

🏆 Believing in Success and Personal Transformation

The second paragraph focuses on the power of belief and the importance of acting like a winner even before achieving success. The author shares his personal journey of blogging and how his belief in his abilities led to significant growth in his subscriber base. He emphasizes the need to invest in personal development and treat oneself with the respect of a successful individual. The paragraph also discusses the futility of chasing titles and money, suggesting that true success comes from personal transformation and learning. The author advises focusing on becoming a person one is proud to be, rather than being envious of others, and stresses the importance of staying in one's own lane and not comparing oneself to others.

10:02

🌟 Choosing Growth Over Mediocrity

The third paragraph encourages readers to experiment, fail, and learn from their experiences to build momentum towards success. It advises cutting out jealousy and spending time on learning and growing, rather than competing for average prizes. The author presents the idea that an extraordinary life is available and waiting for those who choose to pursue it, emphasizing that this path is free and open with no crowds. The paragraph concludes by urging readers to choose success, learning, and personal growth over mediocrity, entertainment, and jealousy, ultimately choosing what they want for themselves rather than what others expect.

Keywords

💡Mediocrity

Mediocrity refers to a state of being average or ordinary, lacking exceptional quality or ability. In the context of the video, it symbolizes the common tendency to settle for less than one's best, often due to fear of failure or the comfort of conformity. The script mentions that 'the pull towards mediocrity is too strong' and that most people 'fight for scraps with the other 99%,' highlighting the theme of striving beyond the ordinary to achieve success.

💡Success

Success, in this video, is portrayed as a state of achieving one's deepest dreams and goals, which may include financial independence, personal growth, or other aspirations. It is contrasted with mediocrity and is attainable through embracing failure and learning from it. The script emphasizes that 'a life of your deepest dreams is available, if you know where to start,' suggesting that success is a journey that begins with a conscious decision to pursue it.

💡Failure

Failure is presented as an essential component of success in the video. It is not an endpoint but a stepping stone for learning and growth. The script quotes Thomas J. Watson, saying, 'Double your rate of failure,' to illustrate that embracing failure is a formula for success. The video encourages viewers to see failure as an opportunity for growth rather than something to be feared.

💡Personal Growth

Personal growth is the process of self-improvement and development, both personally and professionally. The video emphasizes that personal growth is a key to achieving an extraordinary life. It is illustrated through the idea that 'learning and self-education' are crucial for breaking away from mediocrity and that 'the most important goals should be experiential learning and personal transformation.'

💡Self-Worth

Self-worth, in the video, is the intrinsic value and confidence one holds in oneself, separate from external validation or performance. The script points out that tying self-worth to performance can lead to a fear of failure, which in turn can keep individuals stuck in mediocrity. It suggests that recognizing and believing in one's own abilities is crucial for achieving success.

💡Learning

Learning is depicted as an active and continuous process of acquiring knowledge and skills. The video encourages prioritizing learning over entertainment and distraction, stating that 'For every day you read a book, millions of others didn’t.' It positions learning as a differentiator that sets apart those who achieve success from those who remain average.

💡Belief

Belief is the confidence and conviction in one's abilities or the likelihood of a future outcome. The script suggests that having a strong belief in oneself and one's goals is a precursor to success. It uses the example of the narrator's journey from having a small blog to gaining thousands of subscribers by starting to 'believe in myself' and 'act like a winner before I found any success.'

💡Jealousy

Jealousy is portrayed as a destructive emotion that diverts one's focus from personal growth and success. The video advises against comparing oneself to others and instead emphasizes the importance of staying in one's own lane. It metaphorically describes jealousy as 'drinking poison and expecting the other person to die,' highlighting its self-harmful nature.

💡Transformation

Transformation refers to a profound change in form, appearance, or character. In the video, personal transformation is linked to success, suggesting that significant life changes and paradigm shifts are necessary to achieve an extraordinary life. It is mentioned in the context of 'incredible personal transformation and paradigm-shifting experiences,' which are said to attract success.

💡Self-Education

Self-education is the process of educating oneself independently, without the guidance of a formal institution or teacher. The video promotes self-education as a path to success, stating that those who prioritize learning and self-improvement will find themselves on a path with less competition and more opportunities for growth. It is exemplified by the narrator's commitment to waking up early to write and investing in personal development resources.

💡Extraordinary

Extraordinary denotes something that is beyond the ordinary, exceptional, or remarkable. The video uses the term to describe a life that is filled with success, excitement, and fulfillment, contrasting it with a life of mediocrity. It encourages viewers to aim for an 'extraordinary version of yourself' and to make decisions that lead to an 'incredibly exciting, fulfilling life.'

Highlights

The environment often pulls individuals towards mediocrity, as noted by David Schwartz.

Most people are preoccupied with competition through manipulation and politics, which limits their potential for success.

A life of one's deepest dreams is achievable but requires stepping away from the safety of the crowd.

Fear of failure is a barrier to learning and growth, as failure is a necessary part of development.

Thomas J. Watson suggests doubling the rate of failure as a path to success.

Failure brings humility and helps in developing character, contrary to the fear it instills in most people.

Embracing failure can lead to accelerated personal growth, as experienced by the author through blogging.

Benjamin Hardy advises seeking criticism over praise to foster personal development.

Learning and self-education are often avoided due to their challenging nature, but they are essential for mastery.

Darren Hardy points out that the difficulty of tasks keeps most people from achieving success, leaving the field open for the dedicated.

Prioritizing learning can lead to discovering opportunities with less competition, unlike the 'second-class prizes' most people fight for.

Self-belief is crucial for achieving extraordinary success, as demonstrated by the author's recent blogging achievements.

Napoleon Hill emphasizes that belief in one's ability to achieve a goal is a prerequisite for success.

Victor Frankl suggests that success cannot be pursued directly but must result from a focus on personal transformation.

Chasing the wrong things like money or recognition often leads to dissatisfaction, unlike personal growth and learning.

Jealousy and resentment are unproductive and should be replaced with a focus on self-improvement.

The advice to 'Stay in your lane' encourages focusing on one's own path rather than comparing oneself to others.

Choosing personal growth over mediocrity leads to an exciting and fulfilling life with less competition.

Transcripts

Most people will never be truly successful.

The pull towards mediocrity is too strong.

As David Schwartz once penned, “All around you is an environment that is trying to pull

you down to Second-Class Street.”

Most people will never escape the pull.

Much of the thinking around us is small-minded.

Most people are overly concerned with “beating the other guy,” usually through manipulation

and politics.

As a result, they’re left fighting for scraps with the other 99%.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

A life of your deepest dreams — 100% financial independence, being your own boss, traveling

the world with your family, whatever — is available, if you know where to start.

But most people will never turn away from the safety and security of the crowd to realize

this.

Most people hate failure.

They run from it.

In their eyes, if they suck at something, it means they suck.

Since their self-worth is tied directly to their performance, any failure is proof they

aren’t good enough.

But this is exactly why they’ll stay in mediocrity.

If they aren’t willing to fail, they aren’t able to learn from their mistakes.

If they never learn, they’ll never grow and develop into something more.

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success?

It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure.

You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success.

But it isn’t at all.

You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes.

Make all you can.

Because remember that’s where you will find success.”

-Thomas J. Watson If you’re not willing to fail, you guarantee

you’ll stay average-at-best.

If you want to grow into an extraordinary version of yourself, you must be willing to

fail — a lot.

Failure brings humility.

It develops your character.

It helps you laugh at your mistakes and not take things so seriously.

Like a plant placed from the shade into sunlight, your growth rate will accelerate 10x.

When I first started blogging, I was terrified of one thing in particular — negative feedback.

I still remember to this day a comment from an early article that read, “This is the

worst article I’ve ever read.”

I was broken up about it for months.

After that, I made all my articles as vanilla and non-controversial as possible.

Before I hit “publish,” I would ask myself: “No one could criticize this, right??”

I was terrified of failure and rejection.

As a result, my writing stayed mediocre and average for years until I finally started

to embrace the possibility of failure.

Benjamin Hardy put it this way: “Don’t seek praise, seek criticism.”

If you embrace the possibility of failure, you open yourself up to enormous success you’ve

never seen before.

Most people would choose entertainment and distraction instead of learning and growing.

It’s not surprising.

Learning is hard.

Going to counseling, becoming a student of your craft, and constantly failing aren’t

fun.

In the words of Hal Elrod: “Repetition can be boring or tedious, which is why so few

people ever master anything.”

This is great news for the rest of us, though.

Uber-successful entrepreneur Darren Hardy once remarked that he’s always glad when

something is difficult, because that means most people won’t ever do it.

The competition will always be low.

Prioritizing learning and self-education may be new for you.

But know this: For every day you read a book, millions of

others didn’t.

For every morning you woke up early to create and produce, millions of others slept in.

For every day you kept going, millions of others quit.

Ironically, the fiercest competition is for the second-class prizes.

Once you prioritize learning, you become aware of the 1% of opportunities that are truly

life-changing.

More importantly — these opportunities have incredibly less competition!

Most people will continue fighting for scraps with the “mediocre majority.”

That’s a game you don’t want to win.

Instead, quit the game entirely.

Leave the crowd.

Choose learning and self-education instead of entertainment and distraction.

Deep down, most people don’t think they have what it takes to be extraordinary.

It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, of course — if you don’t believe you can, you surely

won’t!

I blogged for 4 years and never got more than 200 subscribers.

Looking back, I see now that I never really believed I could produce truly great writing.

In the past couple months, I’ve gained more than 5,000 subscribers.

This is because I started to take my writing seriously — started to take myself seriously.

I began believing in myself.

I started acting like a winner before I found any success.

So what did I do?

I bought a $500 writing course.

I started waking up at 6 A.M. every day to write.

I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on personal development books.

I treat myself like someone who knows they’re one of the best writers on the Internet.

Soon, I will be.

“No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.”

-Napoleon Hill I’ve found that once you tell your mind

what to do, it will make it happen.

Right now, my sole goal is to gain 100,000 email subscribers over 6 months.

What’s crazy is I actually believe this can happen.

As a result, my mind is always subconsciously finding solutions to make this happen.

Most people will never experience the surge of excitement after beginning to truly believe

enormous success is possible.

Winners act like winners before they become winners.

They believe they can succeed, and their mind starts working on how to get there.

Back when I was 23, and all I had was a little blog with less than 50 views a day, I joined

an entrepreneur networking group.

These guys were intimidating.

They wore suits and laughed at weird jokes and liked going to bars where a beer cost

$11.

They called themselves “Founders” and “CEO’s” and “Investors.”

I quit going after a few weeks.

There were many great guys and girls in that group who were kind and passionate.

But there were also many members who just liked talking about their title.

Titles don’t mean much anymore.

Anyone can be an “expert” or a “CEO” of anything.

If titles and money are what you chase, I guarantee you’ll reach the end of that road

feeling empty and sad.

The most important goals you should have should be experiential learning and personal transformation.

If you’re always chasing success, it will constantly elude you.

In the words of Victor Frankl, “For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must

ensue.”

But if you always prioritize incredible personal transformation and paradigm-shifting experiences,

success will gravitate towards you as if you were a magnet.

I just finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha.

It’s an incredibly sad story of a girl sold into slavery of pleasing men.

The saddest part is that the young geisha doesn’t even realize she’s spending her

whole life chasing the wrong thing: trying to make a man love her.

She believed if she could perform well enough, the affections of this man would finally give

her the healing and fulfillment she always wanted.

Most people spend their lives chasing the wrong things — money, sex, security, and

recognition.

These won’t give you what you want.

Forget about titles and impressing others.

Focus on becoming a person you are incredibly proud to be.

Every moment you spend being jealous is a moment wasted.

We don’t have much time in this world.

The most successful and renowned individuals have often commented later in life how surprisingly

fast it all went.

You don’t have time to be jealous.

If you constantly look to the actions of others, you rarely act like yourself.

Your values and behavior have a harder time aligning, making you unhappy and empty.

“Personal incongruency is what causes so much of our pain.

Not being you will destroy you.”

-Tim Denning Instead of wasting away in mediocrity playing

the comparison game, choose to spend that time working on yourself instead.

I once heard being jealous and resentful is like drinking poison and expecting the other

person to die.

I thought that was an eerily accurate description.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard on this topic was four simple words:

“Stay in your lane.”

It doesn’t matter how much faster they’re going.

It doesn’t matter how much faster you’re going.

If you keep looking at other lanes, you’re going to crash.

Focus on you.

Learn all you can.

Experiment, fail, discover what works.

Soon, you’ll build momentum.

And one day, you’ll look around you, and marvel at just how damn fast you’re going.

Cut out jealousy.

Spend all your spare time learning and growing.

Most people will stay in mediocrity.

They’ll continue fighting with the majority for average, subpar prizes.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The road that leads to an incredibly exciting, fulfilling life is waiting for you.

It’s free and open, and there are no crowds.

Making the shift from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life is one of the most exciting

decisions you’ll ever make.

The learning, growing, and development on this path will make you feel more alive than

you’ve ever felt.

Choose success over mediocrity.

Choose learning instead of entertainment.

Choose personal growth instead of jealousy.

Choose what you want, not what anyone else wants.