If Forrest Gump was a blogger and life followed the movie dumb luck would make him the most successful blogger ever.
People would just end up on his homepage and be amazed by what they read. It wouldn’t be the most profound or deepest insights either.
They would be simple and easily digested nuggets resonated with people and it would all happen because he wasn’t afraid to press publish.
He wouldn’t suffer from paralysis of analysis or worry about whether his words were perfect, he would just write.
I suspect Mark Twain would approve.
Is Mediocrity A Bad Thing?
When my oldest was in second grade and we were still on the birthday party circuit I would hang out with the other parents in the back of the room and engage in the usual discussions one has at these things.
I remember being at one party listening to one of the fathers go on about how important it was that his son always be in the top group in everything.
He railed on and on about how smart and driven they all were and I tried not to yawn or point out that his son was crying because the balloon man didn’t make the right balloon animal.
I must not have hid my feelings very well because his eyes were blazing when he turned to look at me.”
“I don’t know why you are rolling your eyes. This is important. I won’t accept mediocrity.”
“I don’t worry about mediocrity. Half of life is luck. Half is getting along with people. Half is showing up to work and keeping your job. Maybe half a percent is tied into whether you could read at a fourth grade level when you were eight.”
He shook his head, told me my math sucked and suggested that my income was tied into my attitude.
I smiled and asked him if he would take credit for walking into a law practice his grandfather had started and walked away.
Later on I think I asked him how he felt about mediocre millionaires or something like that, but so much time has passed I just can’t remember.
Doesn’t really matter anymore than being called mediocre does, because sometimes mediocrity is underrated, especially in blogging.
My friend Danny Brown has a nice discussion going on at his blog about it. It is called Why Mediocre Blogging Can Still Be Great.
If you are a blogger I heartily encourage you to read and comment.
Who Are You Today?
The beauty of having teenagers and middle schoolers in your home is you receive a regular reminder about how unfashionable and uncool you are.
Well, at least that is how it goes some days, because there are others where you are the coolest.
Those days are good, always nice to be told you are at the top of your game and you haven’t lost a step.
Sometimes the kids ask me to tell them about what I wanted to be when I grew up and I say I am still working on it.
They’ll usually tell me that it is too late to play for The Lakers or The Dodgers and I shake my head and tell them never to believe that lie.
Dear old dad has a plan and is among the most determined and tenacious people they ever met.
Sometimes they’ll press me on this and I’ll ask them if they think it is better to be the best professional baseball or basketball player ever or just a mediocre one.
Most of the time they agree that it would be cool to say you played in the NBA/NFL/NHL/MLB regardless of how good you were.
Most of the time they agree, that is the kind of mediocrity that is still pretty damn cool.
Mediocrity isn’t always bad and who we are today isn’t the sole indicator of who we will always be either.
What do you think?
Hi there mate,
First, thanks for the shout-out, especially on a post that only went live less than four hours ago. Man, now THAT’s proactive!
I love the example you set your kids, both in the words you say and – more importantly – in the actions you take (like the way you handled that dad at school). Like you say, there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with mediocrity.
It reminds me of the hockey player John Scott, and the furore around the fans vote to get him on the NHL All-Star Game. This was a guy who would be the perfect description for “mediocre”, at least in today’s billion dollar industry that is the NHL.
https://www.nhl.com/news/john-scott-all-star-mvp/c-278122638
But the fans voted, the NHL buckled (after a LOT of negative press), and Scott went on to become one of the MVPs for the series.
Now if that’s not proof of why mediocrity will always rise, I don’t know what is. 🙂
It is my pleasure. It deserves more eyeballs.
When I am motivated and have a small window of time I can usually put something decent together.
People don’t understand or think about the words they use. Becoming a father forced me to take a much harder look at my own words, thoughts and interpretations.
Funny you mention John Scott, a buddy of mine who is a die hard Kings fan is always pushing me to become a bigger hockey fan. He must have sent me five different stories about John Scott.
It is a good story and you are right, it proves mediocrity rises.
Well, again, thanks mate, and nice to hear it resonated as such.
I don’t know if you follow English football (soccer, I guess), and – if so – have been watching the EPL this year. A little team, Leicester City, almost got relegated last year from the Premier League. This would have seen then fall down a division, and take a mighty financial hit.
For such a small team, that could have been catastrophic. This year, though? They’re leading the league, and are 10 games away from one of the most unlikeliest championships in Premier League history. And every single neutral wants them to win.
That’s the beauty of mediocrity – you’ll find far more common ground with people than some superior mindset of perfection. 🙂
We do watch, not regularly but we watch.
Both of my kids play, but my daughter is on the all-star team so we hit tournaments all over the area. Some weekends all I do is stand on sidelines and cheer her on.
Anyway, when we watch and I am not trying to make her crazy by singing along with Liverpool fans to You’ll Never Walk Alone” I like pointing out the movement and how just a little energy can change a game.
Sport in general makes me smile, because the example you just provided is proof that you don’t have to have superstars to win or be competitive.