Apollo, Aphrodite, Hercules, Zeus,… the Greeks revered their many, mighty, mythic gods. For all that our modern lives owe to this fertile civilization it’s not a stretch to assume that the heroic tales of these iconic gods may have provided the people with an inspiration for excellence.
Today, in America, it seems that we’ve taken to aspiring to the mythic god of Mediocrity—the patron saint of “good ‘nuff.”
You see it everywhere you look… it’s in our food—nearly every restaurant a chain, it’s in our clothes and same stores in every mall, in our media; magazines, news, movies, it’s even in our water (take a good look and taste of the largest water brands and you may go back to your own tap).
It’s this dilution of nearly everything, the copy-cat, me too, average, vanilla world product offerings that marketing guru Seth Godin so eloquently captured in his blog, “Dumbing Down.”
(I’m particularly fond of the references by Seth, "Our readers won’t understand this." and "No one is going to want something this good…")
Once known as “the land of the free and home of the brave” it seems we’re content to aim just below the beltline of average.
Why? You ask… because this is where the money is to be made.
When it comes to marketing—aka selling things—and investing in the
above, the world looks like a giant pyramid: narrow and steep at the
top—big and wide at the bottom. Consider you’re going fishing to catch
a consumer. Where would you place your bait?
Yes, down at the bottom where the largest number of bodies are. When it
comes to getting a bite—a willing target—it looks a hell of a lot
easier to pick off a lot of the hungrier, generally less discriminating
fish at the bottom.
For most businesses this really does look like the sweet spot—the place
where dreams come true and riches are made. The success of Wal-Mart has
painted a giant target (no pun intended) on the back-sides of an entire
sector of consumers—making the huddled, diluted masses the most coveted
place to be.
This way of thinking says that aiming higher is a waste
of time and resources.
It’s really simple math. More people eat “Mickey-Dee’s” every day than
will drink a Slim-fast. And there certainly are more Slim-Fast consumer
targets than there are Full Strength’ers—just as there are more Ford
drivers than Ferrari owners. It’s shear numbers. Unfortunately, many
people interpret this to mean that we should build only Fords. Hell,
even Ford has figured out they have to be and do something exceptional
now and then.
What this amounts to is trading depth for span—or swapping quality for quantity.
The downward pressure is such that should you dare to aim higher—and
have lofty goals—you may find yourself accused of shunning these
“important people.” I agree that these are important people. We are all
important for we are all people but this begs the question: what makes
this consumer group important? Your conscience or your calculator?
It’s a number’s game and the lowest common denominators happen to be
Pepsi drinking, McD’s eating, Wal-Mart shoppers (no commentary
included). It’s a mass of people that creates for a steady
gravitational pull, tugging at you to “dumb-it-down” in every way,
every day.
Yet, it seems to me that if one truly cared about improving lives they
would find a way to give them more of what they truly need and less of
what they want. But then I’m a radical in the market place Wall Street
calls “consumer goods,” for I’ve chosen depth over span. I’ve chosen
the steep and narrow market high on the pyramid—a premium position.
Not because I’m for one group and not another but because I am for
quality at all costs. I’m for making a difference and delivering a
product that will change lives—for it’s that which is in alignment with
my values.
When I set out to create the world’s first premium nutrition shake,
Full Strength I accepted that on paper I’d instantly eliminated 90%+ of
the market. But then, it was not my intention to have the largest
consumer base but to be the best and to make a difference. I accept
that the person who chooses to empower their lives with Full Strength
can also chew gum and walk, know that gravity was not discovered by Fig
Newton and can both love America and recognize that Germans engineer
the finest cars in the world.
I didn’t go the high road to be a hero—for I can assure you there’s
nothing easy nor glamorous about it. Yet, I do sleep well at night—for
it is the right thing.
Since day one I’ve said often and openly that Full Strength is not
for everyone. It’s the premium nutrition shake best reserved for those
who can feel the energy boost in their body and lift of focus and
clarity in their mind. And like fine art, it’s not equally felt or
appreciated.
That’s why I assume no responsibility to sell you on it. I prefer you
treat me like I’d have you treat most anyone else selling you
something—don’t believe I word I say. Try it—experience it and feel the
difference yourself. You be the judge and either find freedom and a new
vibrant energy for life, or not. If so, great: new way of life. If not,
there’s no risk for I’m content to assign the Strength elsewhere.
And if I could sell it for less than a pack of gum or even the popular
sources of liquid nutrition in a can, I’d do that too. But the axiom
“you get what you pay for” is part of our language for a reason—as it
stands as nearly universally true.
It’s a free country with a wonderfully free market and I choose to exercise both by
aiming high for the top is where a difference is made.
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