The Fantastic Life

Never Settle for Mediocrity

Since I was a junior in High School, I have not settled…for anything.   Not everything has gone my way, of course, but I have never lost because I didn’t give my all.  I now understand this is not normal.  Everyone wants to have good things happen to them, but most are not willing to pay the steep price to get there.  To be excellent in life, you MUST wake up every morning with the intention that you are going to achieve excellence for that day. {Click to Tweet}

In one of my books Chasing Excellence, I explain how to “commit to committing” because nothing good comes from being half in and half out. I have lived this principle on a daily basis for over 40 years.  I commit to my family, I commit to my health, I commit to learning and reading and I commit to my team. The results speak for themselves.  It’s not easy but it can be done.

Here are my top takeaways from the below article on never settling for mediocrity:

1. Pack your schedule­:  Get out there and do more. Twice the effort will deliver twice the results.  As I write my next book, I am fitting it into my current schedule and simply getting more done.
2. Wake up early:  Start planning your day before others get out of bed so by the time they are rolling into the office, you’re already warmed up.  I am up early at least 27 days a month (in the summer 4 am and in the winter 4:30 am).
3. Learn:  A skill for everyone.  Be a lifelong learner.  Start today.  A simple suggestion to start is to read something you would not normally read.
4. Read:  Read books. Any books will do.  Just read.

Get out there and make it happen!

 

Rule #11 from my book The Fantastic Life: Don’t Waste Time

If you want a Fantastic Life, you need to make use of every minute you have. Don’t be content to settle just because the work is hard. Make the most of the time you have.



9 Habits of People Who Never Settle for Mediocrity

When someone says it can’t be done, or that it is impossible, you should be the first one in line to test it out.

By Lukas Schwekendiek

May 11, 2018

1. Pack your schedule.
Most people waste a LOT of time, usually 60 – 100 hours every week, because they have too much down time and are not busy enough.

Make a schedule. Schedule every 30 minutes and fill it to the brim with stuff; this can be stuff that makes you excited, it can be work, it can be sleep, it can be watching a movie, it can be learning to play an instrument, etc.

Just pack it full so that you are the one in control of your time and so that you learn what you are capable of.

2. Do things no one else is willing to do.
When someone says it can’t be done, or that it is impossible, you should be the first one in line to test it out.

Test it, see if it actually is impossible, and then make it work out somehow. Become the person everyone goes to if they want something handled that is too hard.

That will make you way above average through the skills you learn in handling difficult problems, never giving up, and through realizing that your potential is far greater than you believe.

3. Learn more than anyone else.
Not just by studying in school, but especially about yourself, how to improve yourself, and how to master all the areas of your life.

Study every single day. Learn at least for an hour a day by watching videos or reading, and you will be way more knowledgeable than the average person, which gives you more control over your life.

4. Read between 2 and 4 books a month.
That’s at least 1 every two weeks, maybe even 1 a week.

Most people finish 4 books in a year; if you can do 6 – 12 times that amount, that means you will be 6 – 12 times ahead of everyone else, ahead of the average person.

5. Quit the TV and video game addiction.
If I meet you in 10 years at the airport and ask you what you have done in the last 10 years, would you rather say, “Oh … I just watched a lot of shows and movies, and played a lot of games … nothing much.”

Or would you want to say, “I worked really hard on achieving my dreams, I became a master in every area of my life, I traveled the world, met amazing people, and finally got my dream job.”

You are not choosing this life in 10 years. You are choosing this right now! Make the choice that the average person is too afraid to make and go for your dream.

6. Wake up earlier than everyone else.
If you can wake up early, it shows that you are in control of your life.

Most mistakes, regrets, and bad decisions are made after 10 PM. Go to bed early so you can wake up early and make better decisions, which lead to a better life, which gets you out of “average.”

7. Stop thinking of money as an evil thing.
“Money isn’t everything”, “Money doesn’t make you happy”, “Money corrupts”. Those are all sayings of average people that never had any money.

How do they know? Sure, money isn’t everything and it alone doesn’t create happiness, but it sure as hell is not what corrupts people, and I bet I could be a lot happier being rich than poor.

Money is almost everything; with money we are free to do what we want, so stop thinking of it as this evil thing and actually make it your DUTY to have money!

You are obligated to take care of yourself, of your family, and to give yourself and them the best life imaginable, which means you need to have money. It is your duty.

Become the person that uses money for great things, good deeds, and who invests it in noble organizations. Be ethical and be rich at the same time, but be rich!

8. Never surrender on the things you truly want.
Most average people give up as soon as things get tough and then they complain that they never got what they wanted.

Of course things will get hard! You will cry, be frustrated, afraid, angry, and totally beaten to a pulp, but when the average person stops getting up, you have to rise once more.

What do you want?

What do you truly desire?

Whatever it is, however impossible it seems, never surrender, never give up on it, and never settle for anything less than that.

Get it, or die trying. That is the attitude of winners.

9. Be excited.
The average person is bored, upset, annoyed, or even all three. If you want to be above average, then force yourself to be ecstatic about life!

Even if you don’t feel like it, just decide to be excited and enthusiastic.

Practice this and you will learn to be it every day, all day; it is a muscle, not just an emotion, so train it like one!

Skip to content