I subscribe to a blog by Seth Godin. In fact, Seth was recently awarded one of Time Magazine's 'top blogs'.
I had a rare opportunity to see Seth speak in London this week; he had a session on his new book, Tribes. It's a great book if you're looking for a little inspiration on leadership.
His best post, in my opinion, is one about mediocrity. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/the-forces-of-m.html
Seth says...
"Maybe it should be, "the forces for mediocrity"...
There's a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it's right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.
In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths... whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over.
If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist."
What resonates for me is the part he says about remarkable visions being met with resistance. Have you ever felt like your ideas, dreams, hopes were met by others who just couldn't cope with the concepts?
My father always used to say, "Life isn't easy...anything worth it takes effort and persistence."
He and Seth are right.
And if I or you wanted to be mediocre, we could be... because that's just too easy.