Dr. Mediocre
Our First Title:
Embracing Your Inner Mediocrity: Making Peace With Reality
Dr. Mediocre INTERVIEW (April 2009)
Q: Tell us about the book.
VS: Well, in a humorous way, I 'm trying to release society of the stigma associated with mediocrity. No small task. Excellence makes for a great commencement address, but filling peoples minds with "pie in the sky" goals that are not within their reach is a bit cruel. My contention is that you are better off accepting who you are and where you are. It doesn't mean we're losers, it just means we're typical. And there are a lot of us. Millions.
Q: What in the world possessed you to write a book about mediocrity?
VS: They say write what you know. I know mediocrity. My goal is to become the nation's premier authority on the subject. When there is a national crisis dealing with mediocrity, I want O'Reilly and Matt Lauer to call me ASAP. Believe it or not, it was my wife's idea. I said something, then she said wouldn't this be funny if you wrote about mediocrity. That led to something else, then I just went with it.
Q: Why do you think the media has taken an interest in your book?
VS: Slow news day? I don't know. That's all I can think of at the moment, but let's face it, I'm screaming out loud to most everyone out there that it's OK to be average. Not a lot of best-sellers on that topic. Look, most of us are average, but that doesn't mean we can't accomplish great things and be very happy. I'll give you an example. That singer from England...Boyle.
Q: Susan Boyle?
VS: Yeah, Susan Boyle. Youtube sensation. Millions of viewers. Why do you think she was such a sensation? She surprised everyone with her talent, but was being pre-judged on average looks. So, when she excelled above expectations, we all cheered, even cried. She wasn't stressing over her weight, looks, makeup, clothes etc. We could relate to her because she was more like us and not the superstars.
Q: Where do you see dangers in overachievement? What's wrong with being our best?
VS: There's a difference between being the best YOU can be and being THE Best. Is wanting to be better than everyone else a healthy way to live? I don't think so. There is a dark side to the persuit of all that excellence. The constant stress to do that, do this, be better...I say whoa! Take it down. Take a deep breath. Now, don't you feel better? How deep was that? (laughs)
Q: If this book is a huge success and makes you lots of money, won't you have gone from mediocre to "achiever" status?
VS: That's an interesting question. I haven't thought about that. I guess if I reach the best-seller list I may have to re-think this whole thing. I could write a sequel and call it..."OK, maybe I was wrong," or something like that.
Q: Do you Twitter?
VS: Only after getting some lovin'. (laughs) No not yet. I don't think there's a massive horde out there wanting to know what I do every minute of the day. "Going to the bathroom, it's dirty in here. "Tweet." Getting stuck in traffic, nothing on the radio. "Tweet" Not my idea of how fans want to connect.
Q: You poke fun at a lot of people, shows and places. What do you say to them?
VS: Just having fun. But, I just don't get the obsession with American Idol. Writers have opinions. I have no doubt that some people will read some of it and say ..."Hey, I like that show. You're stupid." I've already had people post comments on various sites that what I'm saying is the dumbest thing they've ever heard. Doesn't bother me at all. I would expect nothing less from Type A Overachievers.
Q: What did your publisher say about the cover?
VS: Everybody was cool with it. If it were very slick or high concept, I would come off as hypocritical. I just wanted to look like I didn't give a crap. And, I think I pulled it off. That picture was taken at the same time we had a bunch of family portrait shots done. I just stepped in front of the camera and said, "I'm going to make some faces, shoot em."
It took all of about five minutes. What's funny is it's the cover that gets the attention of the media.
Q: This book is very easy to read. How much did the book design play in that?
VS: I'm impressed you noticed. We did intentionally typeset the book in short paragraphs and spaced them apart to make it read faster. I didn't want readers giving up on it. I wanted to just keep it moving in short bursts. We didn't have it tested, but my guess is it's on a second grade reading level. Small words. The mediocre way.
Q: You sound very comfortable in the audiobook version. Did you do some experience with that kind of thing in your past?
VS: Not really. But, I was basically reading material I knew backwards and forward. That made it go easier. I had to watch popping my "Ps" because we used cheap mics here in my office. No fancy studio for us. Wouldn't be the mediocre way. But, it was kind of fun to do and I'm sort of a ham.
Q: You embraced your inner ham?
VS: Exactly! Good one.
Q: You said in the book you have four favorite NFL teams. Who are they?
VS: Tennessee Titans #1 (home state), Dallas Cowboys #2 (since I was a kid), Atlanta Falcons #3 (they're just down the road) and the Colts (Peyton Manning--Tennessee Alum). Lately, they've all been pretty good. It was a great season last year with three out of four making the playoffs.
Q: Are there any chapters you wish you would have included?
VS: Oh yeah, Buffet restaurants and Government workers. If you can't write a mediocre chapter about Golden Corral or the DMV, you can't write. I might do some blogging about that topic if I can figure out how to blog.
Q: What can you tell us about your next project. We noticed an excerpt for it in the back of the book, the title has recently been changed to say, "Is That Speghetti In Your Pockets?"
VS: Yes, the working title was "Crawford County Schools," but we just changed it to something more interesting. "Is That Speghetti In Your Pockets?" at least raises eyebrows. This is a totally different project. A lot more work. It's a novel about the foibles of a rural county school system. Crazy characters, a decent mystery, lots of fun scenes. There's hardly any novels set in lower education. I got a lot of material from my wife who taught and served as an administrator for nearly 20 years. She'd tell me this stuff at night at the dinner table and I would write them down. "You should write a book about this stuff," she said. So, I did. I'm also spinning some other ideas to follow the mediocrity format. I'll keep thinking about it. Then, there is the ultra secret project that I'll never discuss without someone giving me a lot of money.
Q: Thanks for your time. Good luck with the book.
VS: My pleasure, thanks for having me.
Q: Tell us about the book.
VS: Well, in a humorous way, I 'm trying to release society of the stigma associated with mediocrity. No small task. Excellence makes for a great commencement address, but filling peoples minds with "pie in the sky" goals that are not within their reach is a bit cruel. My contention is that you are better off accepting who you are and where you are. It doesn't mean we're losers, it just means we're typical. And there are a lot of us. Millions.
Q: What in the world possessed you to write a book about mediocrity?
VS: They say write what you know. I know mediocrity. My goal is to become the nation's premier authority on the subject. When there is a national crisis dealing with mediocrity, I want O'Reilly and Matt Lauer to call me ASAP. Believe it or not, it was my wife's idea. I said something, then she said wouldn't this be funny if you wrote about mediocrity. That led to something else, then I just went with it.
Q: Why do you think the media has taken an interest in your book?
VS: Slow news day? I don't know. That's all I can think of at the moment, but let's face it, I'm screaming out loud to most everyone out there that it's OK to be average. Not a lot of best-sellers on that topic. Look, most of us are average, but that doesn't mean we can't accomplish great things and be very happy. I'll give you an example. That singer from England...Boyle.
Q: Susan Boyle?
VS: Yeah, Susan Boyle. Youtube sensation. Millions of viewers. Why do you think she was such a sensation? She surprised everyone with her talent, but was being pre-judged on average looks. So, when she excelled above expectations, we all cheered, even cried. She wasn't stressing over her weight, looks, makeup, clothes etc. We could relate to her because she was more like us and not the superstars.
Q: Where do you see dangers in overachievement? What's wrong with being our best?
VS: There's a difference between being the best YOU can be and being THE Best. Is wanting to be better than everyone else a healthy way to live? I don't think so. There is a dark side to the persuit of all that excellence. The constant stress to do that, do this, be better...I say whoa! Take it down. Take a deep breath. Now, don't you feel better? How deep was that? (laughs)
Q: If this book is a huge success and makes you lots of money, won't you have gone from mediocre to "achiever" status?
VS: That's an interesting question. I haven't thought about that. I guess if I reach the best-seller list I may have to re-think this whole thing. I could write a sequel and call it..."OK, maybe I was wrong," or something like that.
Q: Do you Twitter?
VS: Only after getting some lovin'. (laughs) No not yet. I don't think there's a massive horde out there wanting to know what I do every minute of the day. "Going to the bathroom, it's dirty in here. "Tweet." Getting stuck in traffic, nothing on the radio. "Tweet" Not my idea of how fans want to connect.
Q: You poke fun at a lot of people, shows and places. What do you say to them?
VS: Just having fun. But, I just don't get the obsession with American Idol. Writers have opinions. I have no doubt that some people will read some of it and say ..."Hey, I like that show. You're stupid." I've already had people post comments on various sites that what I'm saying is the dumbest thing they've ever heard. Doesn't bother me at all. I would expect nothing less from Type A Overachievers.
Q: What did your publisher say about the cover?
VS: Everybody was cool with it. If it were very slick or high concept, I would come off as hypocritical. I just wanted to look like I didn't give a crap. And, I think I pulled it off. That picture was taken at the same time we had a bunch of family portrait shots done. I just stepped in front of the camera and said, "I'm going to make some faces, shoot em."
It took all of about five minutes. What's funny is it's the cover that gets the attention of the media.
Q: This book is very easy to read. How much did the book design play in that?
VS: I'm impressed you noticed. We did intentionally typeset the book in short paragraphs and spaced them apart to make it read faster. I didn't want readers giving up on it. I wanted to just keep it moving in short bursts. We didn't have it tested, but my guess is it's on a second grade reading level. Small words. The mediocre way.
Q: You sound very comfortable in the audiobook version. Did you do some experience with that kind of thing in your past?
VS: Not really. But, I was basically reading material I knew backwards and forward. That made it go easier. I had to watch popping my "Ps" because we used cheap mics here in my office. No fancy studio for us. Wouldn't be the mediocre way. But, it was kind of fun to do and I'm sort of a ham.
Q: You embraced your inner ham?
VS: Exactly! Good one.
Q: You said in the book you have four favorite NFL teams. Who are they?
VS: Tennessee Titans #1 (home state), Dallas Cowboys #2 (since I was a kid), Atlanta Falcons #3 (they're just down the road) and the Colts (Peyton Manning--Tennessee Alum). Lately, they've all been pretty good. It was a great season last year with three out of four making the playoffs.
Q: Are there any chapters you wish you would have included?
VS: Oh yeah, Buffet restaurants and Government workers. If you can't write a mediocre chapter about Golden Corral or the DMV, you can't write. I might do some blogging about that topic if I can figure out how to blog.
Q: What can you tell us about your next project. We noticed an excerpt for it in the back of the book, the title has recently been changed to say, "Is That Speghetti In Your Pockets?"
VS: Yes, the working title was "Crawford County Schools," but we just changed it to something more interesting. "Is That Speghetti In Your Pockets?" at least raises eyebrows. This is a totally different project. A lot more work. It's a novel about the foibles of a rural county school system. Crazy characters, a decent mystery, lots of fun scenes. There's hardly any novels set in lower education. I got a lot of material from my wife who taught and served as an administrator for nearly 20 years. She'd tell me this stuff at night at the dinner table and I would write them down. "You should write a book about this stuff," she said. So, I did. I'm also spinning some other ideas to follow the mediocrity format. I'll keep thinking about it. Then, there is the ultra secret project that I'll never discuss without someone giving me a lot of money.
Q: Thanks for your time. Good luck with the book.
VS: My pleasure, thanks for having me.
PERSONAL BIO
Born: Roanoke, Virginia
Graduated from Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee. Played collegiate golf but did not achieve. Married college sweetheart ,Tena. So far, so good. Graduated University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1990 after taking 4 years to complete a 2-year Master's degree program.
He worked assorted jobs in advertising and creative design from 1986-1998. During this "achievement time" of his career, he won several awards for his creative excellence. These trophies now sit in a box collecting dust in his basement. He thought they were a big deal at the time.
He moved out of advertising and into management in 1998 and ran a division selling audio visual equipment. He left in 2004 to open his own business called Sterling Media Warehouse, a media duplication and book selling operation.
He still lives in Tennessee with Tena, and his three children, Jesse, Jake and Savannah.
Graduated from Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee. Played collegiate golf but did not achieve. Married college sweetheart ,Tena. So far, so good. Graduated University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1990 after taking 4 years to complete a 2-year Master's degree program.
He worked assorted jobs in advertising and creative design from 1986-1998. During this "achievement time" of his career, he won several awards for his creative excellence. These trophies now sit in a box collecting dust in his basement. He thought they were a big deal at the time.
He moved out of advertising and into management in 1998 and ran a division selling audio visual equipment. He left in 2004 to open his own business called Sterling Media Warehouse, a media duplication and book selling operation.
He still lives in Tennessee with Tena, and his three children, Jesse, Jake and Savannah.