Bell Curve Theory of Life

          Oh it's such a perfect day

          I'm glad I spent it with you

          Oh such a perfect day

          You just keep me hanging on   

     

                      Lou Reed 1972

I have what you would call a bell curve theory of life, although I don't really know how to define what a bell curve is.  You’ve probably seen one.  It looks like a big mountain that slopes down to the left and the right.  The idea is that most things and people in life fall in the middle, right around the peak of the mountain.  The real action though, at least in my mind, is on the extreme right.

Here's why a bell curve has shaped my life so fully:  I long ago realized that the great majority of things that a person encounters in life (people, services, products, etc.) are average or worse.  Average is code word for mediocre, or right in the center of the bell curve.  It would be easy to be discouraged by this thought and take on an internet hater’s philosophy; everything sucks.

Although this technically may be 80% true, my focus on the bell curve and life in general is that dip in the mountain: there is greatness out there.  Knowing this leads me to a relentless search to find those exceptions, even in seemingly mundane things.  It's why I continuously switch until I find the right person for the job: lawn care (fired 3 people until I found someone I was happy with); computer repair (2 people), dentist (2 people), AC guy (1 person), handyman (4 people), etc.  It's why I won't see a movie until I've run it by Rotten Tomatos.  It's why I will overspend if necessary to get the right secretary.  You get the idea.

I do this for a few reasons (if you're thinking because I’m anal, well yes, we can count that one also).  It’s hard to settle for second rate service when you know there are people out there that are great.  And once you find what you’re looking for, you can stop looking.  In the long run it saves a lot of time and unhappiness.

One other cause for optimism is technology.  There's always going to be a bell curve, but at the center a lot of technology is still pretty damn good.  My smart phone may be on the right of the mountain and yours in the middle, but I bet you love yours also.  My big screen TV may rate higher than yours, but they're both crystal clear.  For a lot of tech the difference has become negligible. 

            But in the meantime, the search for excellence goes on.  And I'm gonna find it.

Have a good night everyone.

 JR

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