Today, I’d like to talk about mediocrity.
Mediocrity is like a prison.
Have you met people who are very bright, very gifted, but are trapped in mediocrity? Have you ever wondered why?
Today’s message will solve this mystery.
Today, I’d like to share with you the 5 most common reasons people languish in the prison of average—even if the door is unlocked.
Why People Are Stuck in Mediocrity
The most common reason for mediocrity is a lack of drive.
Where does drive come from?
Drive is born out of pain.
There are two kinds of pain: Personal and Vicarious.
An example of personal pain?
My friend Arnold Vargas grew up very poor in Gumaca, Quezon. He would see his parents only a few days each year because they worked in Manila—his mother as a domestic helper and his father as a carpenter. As a young boy, he had one dream: To gather his family in one house.
When he was in Grade 2, he sold ice candy to help put food on the table. In high school, he was a bus vendor, selling pandesal (bread) by morning and balut (duck eggs) by night. As a young man, his big dream was to be a janitor. When he became one, he was the happiest man—and in his mind—he thought he’d grow old as a janitor.
But one day, he was fired. And it crushed him. He felt God cheated him. He said, “Lord, being a janitor was my dream. Why did you take it away from me?”
Some time later, a friend told him to apply as an area sales manager of a publishing company. He applied but was rejected. But every day, he texted the hiring manager to give him a try—even without pay. After 14 days, Arnold got his reply—and he was given a break. And the rest is history. In a few years, he sold P15 million worth of textbooks.
Today, Arnold has his own publishing company, with 25 sales agents around the Philippines.
What made Arnold successful? The pain of his early years.
Let me now give you an example of vicarious pain.
I wasn’t as poor as Arnold. My family was lower middle class.
But as a poor missionary, I always had no money to meet the many needs of our ministries and the people around me. I felt their pain. And their pain became my pain. I wanted to help them, but I had nothing to give. My helplessness shook me. And I vowed to myself that I would earn a lot of money to fund my ministries.
And that’s what I’m doing today (and having enormous fun).
Drive is that powerful magic that makes people break every internal and external barrier towards their dream.
If your “why” is big enough, your “what” doesn’t matter.
2. Lack of Dreams
Note: Drive is more powerful than Dreams. Hunger is more powerful than Hope. Why? Because the desire to avoid pain is more powerful than the desire to attain pleasure.
I’ve met many who have dreams. They tell me, “I want to build an orphanage,” or “I want to travel around the world,” or “I want to own my own house.”
But sadly, years pass by, and nothing happens.
Reason? They have a dream but they don’t have drive. They have hope but they don’t have hunger.
But what happens if it’s just drive without a dream?
Arnold has many friends who lived beside him. Yet to this day, they’re still living in poverty. They experienced the same pain. Pain moved Arnold out of mediocrity while pain moved others to remain stuck. How come?
Pain isn’t enough. You also need hope.
Drive comes from yesterday’s pain.
Dreams come from tomorrow’s hope.
Your drive is the fuel. Your dream is the car. To go anywhere, you can’t just have one. You need both.
3. Lack of Discipline
Some people have dreams and drive, but they don’t have discipline. And they too will fail.
Scripture says, Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23 NLT)
I believe there is no success without sacrifice.
And not just a sacrifice done in one dramatic moment—but long string of sacrifices done every day.
I remember a husband who told his wife, “I’m ready to die for you!”
She told him, “Nice, but I’d rather that you live for me so that you can throw out the garbage every day.”
What is discipline? The habit of hard work.
Fact: Success and failure are not events but habits. If you want to be successful, you need to step out on the stage of life and be excellent every single time.
4. Lack of Direction
I hear a lot of people say, “Work hard and you’ll succeed.”
But hard work is not the only ingredient to success.
Think with me: If hard work is the only ingredient to success, then construction laborers who work under the heat of the sun 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, should be the richest people in the world. Domestic helpers in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, who for years, work thousands of miles away from their family, should be the richest in the world.
But many of them remain poor. Why? Because aside from drive, dreams, and discipline, you need direction.
What is direction? Your calling. Your mission. Your purpose. Your path to success.
Direction is giving your gift to the world.
God created you for a purpose. As the Bible says, Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – what a creation! (Psalm 139:13-14 The Message)
I repeat: Hard work is not enough.
Where can you earn the most?
Your greatest earning potential is found in that that sweet spot where these three circles intersect…
As the good book says, Do not neglect your gift. (1 Timothy 4:14 NIV)
But alas, not all success is financial…
5. Lack of Depth
Many people are financially successful but spiritually bankrupt. Their wallets are full but their soul is empty. Their fans love them but their families hate them. Their life is filled with pleasure but their heart is starving for peace.
That’s not the success you want.
You want success with depth.
It’s real success that can only come from following God.
Today, I invite you to step out of your prison of mediocrity.
Walk Out of Your Prison
HAVE you heard of the famous Harry Houdini?
As a young boy, I loved reading about him. Houdini was probably the most famous escape artist in the world. I’m not sure if the story I’m about to tell you is part legend and part history, but I find it utterly fascinating.
Houdini boasted he could escape any jail cell in less than an hour. One day, a small town in the British Isles built a new jail cell and they were proud of it.
“Come, give us a try,” they said to Houdini, and he agreed.
He walked into the prison cell bristling with confidence. After all, he had escaped complicated situations hundreds of times before.
Once the jail cell was closed, Houdini took off his coat and went to work. From his belt, he got a flexible but tough ten-inch piece of steel. He knelt in front of the door and started working on the lock.
At the end of 30 minutes, his confident expression had disappeared.
At the end of an hour, he was drenched with perspiration.
After two hours and totally exhausted, Houdini literally collapsed against the door. And the force of his weight was enough to push the door open!
Because in reality, the door had never been locked.
It was locked only in one place: In his own mind.
Which meant only one thing. It was firmly locked.
Because whatever your mind says is locked—is locked.
Even if it isn’t.
I’ve got an announcement to make: The door the prison of mediocrity is unlocked.
Walk out.
And live the great life you were always meant to live!
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
