Average, not quite?

I had a conversation with one of my mates a couple of weeks ago. That in itself is not surprising! Surprising was that this chap claimed to be average and was quite upset about it.

Another mate immediately stepped up and told him that he had an incredible family life and was a great dad. Someone to be respected and looked up to for just those qualities as sadly they are unusual in the world. I think he was a little taken aback by this comment.

This world is a funny place. For the most part respect is generated by a thick wallet, a fancy car, labelled clothes, and a palatial home. Society loves these people; they have made it big and deserve to be our hero’s.

Or do they?

We have just seen Tiger Woods fall from grace. A man blessed with extra ordinary talent, who mastered a difficult game, and made it work for him. But we have seen that linked to that great talent was also a great weakness. Then there are pop icons like Britney Spears, plenty of cash but trailing a set of life disasters. Suffice to say there is not enough blog space to discuss the celebrity world and their issues. Money seems to be a wonderful thing, but I imagine it must magnify any weaknesses we may have. For most us, we will never get to find out the hard way.

It seems that there are two main directions one can take in life. Focus your life on the art of making money, although whether one succeeds or not is a different story! The other avenue is a life of service to one’s family and or community. It is rare to find anyone who has successfully married the two, although there are many philanthropists who make tons of money, discover that money is not everything, and then turn to helping out the world.

Path number two has no glamour, does not seem to be fun, allows for zero recognition, and includes much personal sacrifice. It is no wonder that few aspire to be the best at it! We need more people to step up and be average at the affairs of the world and brilliant with their families.

My ‘average’ mate is indeed blessed with a rare gift and is one of the few that actually deserves hero status!