When I was in high school there was a popular game called “chicken,” wherein someone would scratch the back of your hand lightly with one finger. It didn’t really hurt for a while, but gradually there would be a raw open spot that developed on the back of your hand that stung pretty well. The teachers were enraged, and threatened to punish anyone found with a sore on the back of their hand – as if we had been caught shooting heroin in the cafeteria! Nobody had the courage to address the real issues, so they went after the silly games instead. That’s mediocrity. Mediocrity is a popular place to hide, because it doesn’t ask much of us. On the other hand, it doesn’t deliver anything, either. Choosing not to excel will allow you to keep your head on your shoulders, because very few people take aim at the middle of the pack. On the other hand, the middle of the pack never succeeded in transforming anything or addressing any of society’s ills. You might argue that the job of the middle of the pack is to suffer society’s ills without complaining. That’s a kind of slow death of the spirit wherein we become diminished one millimeter at a time, like a game of chicken. We are all better than that. Take a chance, stand above the crowd, and really impact someone’s life. You’ll find it makes your life worth living!