{"id":22008,"date":"2024-04-13T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=22008"},"modified":"2024-04-12T11:30:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T18:30:19","slug":"how-to-raise-yourself-above-mediocrity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/how-to-raise-yourself-above-mediocrity\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Raise Yourself Above Mediocrity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/How To Raise Yourself Above Mediocrity.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-474\" src=\"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio.jpg 375w, https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio-300x86.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We have all heard the terms or phrases made about other people, about the masses of the population, about the majority of people on the earth,&#8230; \u201cOh he or she is just the average type person.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We have all heard men or women talk about the folks who work for them either in individual or combined groups using descriptive words in their comments like,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cHe is much like the average worker,\u201d or \u201cthat particular person is like most of the other people who I employ,&#8230;he is just average or he is mediocre.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Words, the same or similar to these examples, are ban-tied about daily in the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>social circles and the work world of America.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I guess it is so because there are so many <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">average<\/span> people in the world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It might also be because of a very bad and sloppy habit we content Americans have permitted to permeate our own thinking and speech.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I once heard the word average defined as,&#8230;\u201cthe top of the bottom,&#8230;or the bottom of the top.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It seems that it is all a matter of personal perspective and viewpoint.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Another fellow I heard define average saying it was the \u201ccream of the crap.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Any of these three definitions, in my personal opinion fall way short of the mark as to their correctness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Now I grant you that there are definitely different and distinctive categories of people and people\u2019s work habits and work ethics.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But I must also tell you that God did not make or create any one of His finest Creations, mankind,&#8230;to be better than the rest,&#8230;just like the rest,&#8230;or worse than the rest.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>All created human beings are designed and fearfully and wonderfully made by their Creator God to achieve greatness and accomplish wonderful things in love and service to their fellow man.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>For unexplained and unknown reasons, God allows some people to be born with more physical or spiritual talents and abilities than do others,&#8230;some have greater intellect than do others, and certainly some are more physically and spiritually more attractive than are others.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But, <b>God makes every human being with a specific plan and purpose to develop and accomplish while they are alive on earth.<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>This purpose, once accomplished, is to be for the love and service to their fellow men and women,&#8230;and all for the glory of God Almighty Himself.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">From birth until death, every man or woman will spend their lifetimes searching for that God-given Plan or Purpose for their lives.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>Some of them find it,&#8230;and develop it,&#8230;to the completed levels as preplanned by God.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Others do not.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>A life of happiness and peace of mind are the rewards for finding it and developing it while a person is still alive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">To the extent people discover God\u2019s Will and Purpose for their own lives is what really separates them in to the different categories into which they settle and live out their lives on this earth.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><b> Now never forget that every created human being has within themselves the innate ability to find their Purpose in Life and pursue it with passion.<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Developing this God-given Plan can occur at any given time while they are still alive.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Chronological age plays little role regarding the discovery of God\u2019s Plan for a person\u2019 life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">A short description of the things it takes to become highly successful, starting from nothing significant, can be adequately described by the life of Mr. Charles M. Schwab, an American Industrialist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">A story please&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Charles M. Schwab (1862&#8211;1939), was a normal man without great experience or more than two years of advanced education.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He grew up and became a day laborer in the then expanding American Industrial Revolution.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But <b>he wanted more in life than what he possessed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b> <b>He was internally driven and motivated and was always searching for ways and means to advance himself,&#8230;to make himself more valuable.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b> Mr. Schwab became the president of Carnegie Steel Co. when he was only 35 years old.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Such was an incredible achievement during those times of American history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Mr. Charles Schwab became Andrew Carnegie\u2019s \u201cright hand man\u201d and was also one-time president of U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He grew and continued growing to become a multi-millionaire business leader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Mr. Schwab possessed a deep appreciation for the common, dedicated working man and he gave the power to succeed to any employer who was willing to pay the price for hiring and working with such a dedicated common man.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Mr. Schwab eagerly pointed out that he motivated his own workers by appealing to the American spirit of conquest within every man\u2019s heart.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>Mr Schwab termed this American Spirit of Conquest, within all good men\u2019s hearts, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">as <\/span><\/b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>a spirit of doing things better than anyone has ever done the before.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Charles Schwab asserted, <b>\u201cIn that time it has been my good fortune to watch most of the present leaders rise from the ranks, and ascend step by step to places of power.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>These men, I am convinced, are most natural prodigies.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They won out by using normal brains to think beyond their manifest daily duty.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Now listen to what he is really saying.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><b> Normal men,&#8230;used their brains,&#8230;thought through the things they did before they did them,&#8230;and lastly thought and worked beyond (more than) they were paid to think and work.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>The best way to lead other people is by being the right and righteous example for them to observe, to follow, and to duplicate.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">There are always two sides to every situation and relationship among men and women.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Being a leader of people is no different.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Mr. Schwab worked for Andrew Carnegie.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Lets quickly peek at what Mr. Carnegie had to say about Charles M. Schwab.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Andrew Carnegie said, \u201cWhen Charlie Schwab first went to work for me he had no ability as far as surface appearances went other than that possessed by any other day laborer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But <b>Charlie had an unbeatable mental attitude and a disarming personality that enabled him to win friends among all classes of men.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>He also had a natural willingness to do more than he was paid for.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>This quality was so pronounced in him that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">he actually went out of his way to get in the way of work<\/span><b>.<\/b><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He not only went the extra mile, but he added two or three extra miles, and went with a smile upon his face and the right attitude in his heart.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>He also went in a hurry and came back for more when he had finished any task assigned to him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>He took hold on a hard job as eagerly as a hungry man takes on food when it is set before him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Now what can one do with a man like that, except to <b>give him plenty of rein and let him go as fast as he pleases.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That sort of mental attitude inspires confidence.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It also attracts opportunities that would run away from the man who carries a frown on his face and a grouch in his heart.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I tell you frankly that <b>there is no way to hold back a man with that sort of mental attitude.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>He writes his own price tag and gets it willingly.<\/b><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">If one employer is short-sighted enough to withhold recognition of such a man, through adequate compensation, some wiser employer will soon discover him and give him a better job.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The law of supply and demand, therefore, steps in and forces the proper reward for such a man.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>The employer has very little to do about such circumstances.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The initiative is entirely in the hands of the employee. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Word has reached my ears, many times, that Charlie Schwab got a favorable \u201cbreak\u201d because old man Carnegie took a fancy to him and pushed him up front ahead of all the others.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>The truth is that Charlie pushed himself up front.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>All I had to do in the matter was to keep out of his way and let him go.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Any favorable \u201cbreak\u201d that he received he created for himself&#8230;through his own initiative.<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Leadership for the most part is a learned skill set.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>You normally are not born with it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>You always attract in life, what you are,&#8230;not what you want.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Leaders Gotta Lead&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have all heard the terms or phrases made about other people, about the masses of the population, about the majority of people on the earth,&#8230; \u201cOh he or she is just the average type person.\u201d\u00a0 We have all heard &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/how-to-raise-yourself-above-mediocrity\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22008"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22012,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22008\/revisions\/22012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}