Chapter 8
Average Is a Failing Formula
Look around, and chances are you'll see a world filled with average. Although this is—as I have previously stated—the “acceptable” level of activity upon which the middle class is built, there is a growing amount of evidence that this thinking is unworkable. Jobs are being shipped overseas, and unemployment is becoming even more rampant. Members of the middle class are unable to get their heads above water, people are living longer than their savings, and entire companies and industries are being wiped out as a result of average products, average management, average workers, average actions, and average thinking.
This “addiction to average” can kill the possibility of making your dreams a reality. Consider the following statistics: The average worker reads an average of less than one book a year and works an average of 37.5 hours per week. This same person makes 319 times less money than the top U.S. CEOs, who claim to read more than 60 books a year. Many of these financially successful executives are maligned for the huge sums of money they receive; however, we often fail to appreciate what these people have done to get where they are today. Although it might not always look like they're working very hard, we often dismiss the fact that they somehow managed to attend the right schools, make the right connections, and then did what was necessary to move up the food chain. It all required substantial action on their part. You can resent them ...
