Being average

If you’re average at something I’m sorry but it means that you’re not very good. You’re certainly closer to being the worst than being the best.

How so? This is because ability is not linear. In any activity there are many more people who have a lower level of skills than those with a higher level.  The better you get, the less people there are who are as good as you.  Your company becomes rarefied.

Take the Premier League for example. After 20 games this season the average points is 27.9 but only eight clubs have more than this. If you are 10th in the league you are in the top half but below average.

This is even more noticeable with the tennis world rankings.  The average number of points for the top 100 male players is 1488, with only 24 players above this level.  The spread of the below average 76 players (although they are still world class) is 921 points but the spread of the top 24 is a whopping 12142.  Just imagine where the average would be if we could include all the players in the world.

Being of average ability could still leave you quite poor.  If you want to be the best, you need to be well above average.