Anthony Moore - What Extraordinary People Know

Why Everyone Remains Stuck

Is there a difference between average and mediocre? Not so much.

Seth Godin

Every day, millions of people wake up to a dull life characterized by shallow relationships, mundane jobs, low incomes, muffin tops, uncontrollable insecurity, and endless worry about when its all going to stop. They change slowly and unconsciously over timeand not for the better.

They know something is wrong. Theres a constant whisper in the back of their minds that reminds them of this, a voice that cant be silenced.

Very few people act to silence that never-ending stream of anxiety. But theres good news: if you bought this book and are reading this, you are taking the first step toward change! Youre part of the minority thats actually seeking improvement. But the majority of people wont. Why? If they know something is wrong, why dont they change? Why dont they do something about it?

This happens for many reasons. Some people are just too scared. They dont want to rock the boat. Better the devil you know than the devil you dont, they sigh as they tolerate another slap in the face from their mediocre, substandard environment. But this fear is powerful, and it can grow so powerful that it will dictate every decision you make. Robert Kiyosaki, bestselling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad , once wrote, For many people, the power of their excuse is more powerful than their dreams. The fear of pain, the fear of failure, even the fear of succeeding can all become strong enough to dominate you into submission, into living a life founded on avoiding pain rather than seeking growth. Your ability to tolerate pain directly determines how successful youll be. If you let it, fear of pain will freeze you as the current mediocre version of yourself, permanently. Thus, people remain in perpetual mediocrity.

Others are too distracted. Theyre so caught up in the mundane, trivial rhythms of email, traffic, work, the news, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, TV, and whatever their smartphone is buzzing about that they cant even see their lives have become unfulfilling and profoundly empty. From the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep, their eyes are drawn to the short term. In short, theyre busy. But as essayist Tim Kreider once wrote, Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.

Busyness is often a sign of weakness, a cluttered mind unable to set boundaries. When youre too busy, it means you havent set up boundaries to focus on the important things. This constant concentration on trivial, unimportant matters leads to emptiness and sadness. The ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca once warned, Love of bustle is not industry. The love of busyness only leads you quicker to the grave.

Some people remain in mediocrity because theyre just too prideful: they like being the big fish in their small pond (even if their pond is dirty and full of toxic waste). They know they need to change, but they dont want to start over and learn the new skills required to succeed on higher levels. Even though their life is totally miserable, they reassure themselves with phrases like At least Im in charge. Theyre fine with mediocrity as long as theyre the ones calling the shots. But this is like a little toddler wearing a soiled diaper thinking, I know it smells awful, but its soft and its mine. So people choose to be the captain of a canoe with holes in the bottom instead of a student on a mighty yacht, sailing toward mastery and greatness.