17 Dec 2025 · 2 min
A short Brian Johnson podcast (+1 #95) contrasting mediocrity and excellence—tracing the Latin root of "mediocre," listing synonyms of mediocrity, and offering "excellence/arete" as the aspiration. The episode closes with a pitch for Johnson’s Philosopher’s Notes and Optimized membership, which distills book wisdom into practical lessons and classes.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In our last few plus ones, we've been chatting about reaching the peak of of our potential. What's the alternative? Well, did you know that the Latin root of the word mediocre literally means to get stuck in the middle of a rugged mountain? Yep. Medias equals middle. Ocrus equals rugged mountain. Mediocrity. That's not where we want to get stuck.
So how do we make it through.
That midway point and summit the peak of our potential? Well, let's open up our thesaurus for some clues. We'll start with synonyms for mediocre. Ordinary. Average.
Middling.
Middle of the road. Uninspired. Undistinguished. Indifferent. Unexceptional. Unexciting. Unremarkable. Run of the mill, Pedestrian. Prosaic. Lackluster. Forgettable. Amateur. Amateurish. Those are all great ways to to get stuck. But guess what? There's only one antonym for mediocre. Can you guess what it is? Excellent. Yep, that's the ticket. Excellence.
When we hit those inevitable tough spots.
On the rugged mountain that is our heroic quest, we need to show up with excellence. We need to do our best. And you may recall the Greeks had a word for that. Arete. It's the best way to high five your inner daimon as you joyfully summit. Let's do that. One step at a time. Right up to the peak of that rugged mountain. Plus one, plus one and plus one.
Isn't it a bit odd that we went from math to science to history, but somehow missed the class on how to live? For some wacky reason, optimal living 101 never made the schedule. Of course, it's too late to go back and change that, and you're too busy to read full time to catch up. But if you're like us, you're all about optimizing your life and actualizing your potential. So imagine this. Imagine having someone read the best books on how to optimize your life and pull out the big ideas that can really change your life. You know those sections you underline and asterisks and mark all up. Then imagine that guy me, connecting those awesome ideas to other great books and helping you actually apply the wisdom to your life today. Well, that's what I do with something we call philosopher's notes, where I've distilled hundreds of great books into 20 minute super practical summaries. Then imagine me taking the absolute best big ideas from those great books and sharing them with you in hour long Optimal Living 101 classes on everything from productivity, purpose and confidence to nutrition, goal setting and conquering procrastination. Helping you optimize every facet of your life so you can actualize your potential. You've got a personal trainer. I'm kind of like your personal philosopher. Ancient wisdom plus modern science plus practical tools. That's what our optimized membership program is all about. If you're feeling it, we'd love to have you join us.
