fight mediocrity

Here’s another idea—How about if we actually read books before we condemn them?? To take someone’s word, no matter how much you may respect them, is a sign of someone easily led, and influenced. A weak mind, that can be shaped by the will of the person talking to them.
For instance. Darwin’s “Origin of Species”. Yes, I read it. Guess what? There is no mention of man being related to apes or monkeys in there!
The Koran—No mention of Heaven having the 42 virgins, or whatever. It also declares fire of anykind is never to be used to kill ANY OTHER human.
Only men of a certain age are to engage in war, thus, only they are to be killed, NO women or children or to be involved at all. So the terrorists are breaking the rules of their own religion.
The Koran also Praises Jesus highly. It states that he was a great leader, and Prophet, and sincerely believed what he taught. He just was not the Son of God. The Islam faith has no Son of God.
See what I mean??? Not so bad.

OK. Here it goes.

No doubt everyone has heard of the deaths of Micheal Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. The airwaves are plugged up with up to the second reports of autopsies, concerns, fan reactions, memorials, etc. Among all the noise, the death of a truly brave person goes unnoticed.
  I'm talking about Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald
 For those of you who don't remember, she was a Dr. at a South Pole research Station in 1999. She found out she had breast cancer. Being winter, it was impossible to evacuate her. with help from the outside, she did her own biopsy, diagnosis, and chemotherapy, all while performing her duties as Dr. in the remotest place on Earth.
  Even after being evacuated and treated, she chose to return to her duties down there.
 Was she a millionaire weirdo? An actress? Just some brave Dr. fighting long odds and beating them, that's all.
 Her breast cancer returned, and she died in Massachusetts at 57. No announcements on TV or the web, just a small obituary.
  As long as the world is like this, there will be mediocrity.

So many ( am majority, in fact) of people work, learn and play far below their full potential. Why? What is to blame for this? I feel it is people themselves. As long as we accept that this is the way things are, and that there is no way to change it, mediocrity, ignorance and complacency will always be around.
Saper Vedere ( Dare to be wise)

“During the war I experienced a lot of Radio both as listener and performer; and even after the war through 1947 and 1948. Television, like the Atomic Bomb, was still in these years only a threat, but a very definite threat to the future of mankind. For whereas the atom might one day destroy us all completely in a matter of days, Television might do an equally good job, over a much longer period by merely reducing us to a state of such impotence that our ability to distinguish what is bad from what is good could be impaired for ever & ever. Mediocrity being a state of mind in which the individual no longer knows, and therefore no longer cares, what is happening to him – if this ‘crime of torpor, of lethargy, of apathy, the snake-like-sin of coldness-at-the-heart’ became congenital we just might one day find ourselves the slaves of some master race. Things have moved very fast these past fifty years and it seems to me that time is no longer on our side.”
“Whereas, not very long ago it was the creative arts and derivatives thereof that had the greatest influence over men’s minds, it is now a technological civilization that rules our thinking and has virtually become an abstract form of religion. Could it be that the Western World for the past quarter century had been too dedicated to the status quo, and was unconsciously drifting into mediocrity? Whereas our enemies were dedicated to a from of progress, an affirmative progress regardless of how we may disapprove of their methods and philosophy.”
“No art can exist, let alone progress creatively (only mechanically), through a medium that is controlled by commercials. Both Radio and Television have made a great contribution to information and communication and often to specific forms of education. But as art forms they simply do not exist. They could, but they don’t. Can you imagine going to see a play in the Theater or a Motion Picture, to be interrupted every fifteen minutes by someone coming on stage or appearing on the Motion Picture screen to sell you a car, or a washing machine, or to suggest you may be thirsty, and to take a few minutes out to visit your local tavern and toss off a couple of beers, always remembering of course that the second beer tastes just as good, if not better than the first, and other such ingenuous balderdash. In newspapers and magazines you may choose to look at the ads if you so wish, but with Radio and Television they are rammed down your throat whether you like it or not; and more often then not when perhaps you might be enjoying the development of a well-written and well-acted play, such as Mr. Costigan’s original M.S. For TV, The Little Moon of Alban with Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer.”
“But for the most part both Radio and Television are merciless mediums for any artists, creative or interpretive, and have been more responsible for the growth of mass mediocrity in our culture than anything else I can think of. Baseball sends our youngsters out with a desire to play baseball and one day perhaps to play in the major leagues. Did you ever hear of a youngster having seen or listened to David Copperfield or Gone With the Wind, or Hamlet and wanting to read Dickens or Shakespeare or Margaret Mitchell?”
“Radio is unquestionably a superior medium to television because it makes us use our imaginations. I have been told by literally hundreds of people that when we were doing the Sherlock Holmes series they would turn out the lights or if they had a fire sit around it and let their imaginations go fancy free. Many have told me that the hound in The Baskervilles was far more frightening to them on Radio than it could ever be on the screen or their Television sets.”
“In Television I hope we shall one day soon have paid TV so that the public may have no further excuse for not being selective. By all means let there be commercial Radio and Television. We have no more right to deprive a business or industry of advertising in these mediums than they have the right to deprive us of our talents as we see fit to use them. If you are interested in some toothpaste or cigarettes, a beer or an automobile or breakfast food there must of course be shows that will add this luxury to your viewing pleasure. But I know of no commercials that are other than an affront in their interruptions of such TV plays as The Lark with Julie Harris, The Browning Version with Sir John Gielgud, and several other of like commendable effort.”
— Excerpts taken from pages 174-177 of
In and Out of Character by Basil Rathbone (written approx. 1956-1962)

I received the “Student of the Month” award at the school assembly today :)

In my life, I am sure about who I want to be, what I want to be, and how I’m going to do it. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I will stubbornly strive toward one goal and never change my focus, but there are some things that I know I won’t change about my outlook on life: I want to be successful and happy. Which means that I should graduate with the best marks I can achieve, go to University, make my living with something that I’m passionate about, be financially independent, and maintain a healthy balance. If I look at all these goals, it’s obvious that these can’t be achieved with work that anyone could put out there. I want to be recognized and stand out from the crowd.
Yeah, it may seem conceited to most people, but I’ve only got this one life at the moment, and whoever has given it to me blessed me with a large amount of ambition and determination.
This has lead me to many decisions, and I know that I want to fight mediocrity, get to the top, and have the chance to make the very best out of my life.

Even when I fail, I am perfect. Nothing and nobody is worth getting angry over. A healthy body and a healthy mind make all this worthwhile. Through the ups and downs of life, I am in control of my emotions and nothing can break me. I am at peace with life. I give love and kindness to those who matter to me and those who give love to me. I am worth everything- every penny, every dream, every sacrifice. I survive on positive energy and knowledge of my purpose. The past educates me and the future propels me. I thrive in the present.

Just set a standard for yourself and keep it. Be an example…

Two I love are:

• Eric Anderson

• Jim Hightower

We need to better folks. Pick something and excel at it. Strive for excellence in at least one area of your life. Smile more, be more courteous, be an example of a better human being.

Be a better student, lover, father, mother! Work harder… come on… let’s all do something new and make a difference. Just pick one thing and then do it better.

Ok, ok, enough of a rant… but seriously who is with me?? :-)

I think the big thing here is knowing which battles to fight. It would be nice if everyone just honestly tried their best you know? There is a difference between the mediocre in life and the things that stand out.