Why You Should Be An Elitist

The thread title may offend some people, and may seem like I’m encouraging an undesirable behavior or mindset. Before you jump all over me, let me explain why I believe that at times, you must adopt an elitist attitude in order to succeed.

First lets examine Wikipedia’s definition of Elitism:

Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite—a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.

Well that doesn’t sound very nice or egalitarian, does it? Good thing my concept of elitism is different! For the rest of this column lets use my description of elitism.

First, lets redefine elitism from believing that you’re better than everyone else and deserve to be given more power to the idea of striving for qualities that would make you considered to be among the elite (top 5%). That is, think of elitism as developing the skills and attitude necessary in order to be among the most successful 5% of the population. Why is this necessary? Why can’t you be among the top 5% by “being yourself”? Well, being yourself is what got you to where you currently are, and if that’s working out so wonderfully, then why are you reading my column? If you aren’t successful yet, its because you don’t have the mindset that the elites have. They think differently than you do, and they’re doing something that you haven’t mastered yet. The sad reality is, 95% of the population is average or below average. It’s harsh, but its true. I consider myself among the top 5%, and its this elitist attitude that I believe makes or breaks a person. It’s what separates the men from the boys. The Gold Medalist from the Silver Medalist. First place from Second place. The Billionaires from the Millionaries. Getting the point?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m better than anyone else. Values shouldn’t be assigned to people’s lives and worth. But when it comes to valuing people’s skills, talents, and success in life, I wholeheartedly believe that these can be measured and compared. No, they should be compared. Winning should be recognized, and losing shouldn’t be sugarcoated with euphemisms. If you lose a sports match, then you lost, period. The concept that “we’re all winners” is utter nonsense and only breeds weakness. In the same vein, we can measure the skills, talents, and successes of the top 5% in any field, whether that field be in a competitive game or sport, the world of business, or even the internet. What do the top 5% in their fields do that separates them from the other 95%? Find out and think like they do.

So how do elitists think? While I can’t speak for anyone else, I’d bet that they believe they’re destined to be great and among the best, if not the best, at what they do. They are willing to do what others aren’t willing to do in order to be successful. But that’s only a guess. By now, you’re probably wondering whether I consider myself an elitist, and if so, what kind of things do I believe?

The truth is, I do believe I’m destined to be in that 5% - that I have something to offer to the world which 95% of the world can not replicate or imitate. I don’t believe that I’m the best at everything - far from it. I have many areas of interest of which I know I will never be among the best, whether this is because I don’t have as much passion for it as others do or whether I simply lack sufficient talent to be among the elite. You can’t be the best at everything, and that’s the crucial distinction between the standard definition of elitism and my redefined conception.

For the thing you are most passionate about, you should be an elitist. You should have higher standards than everyone else. You should take it more seriously, work harder than anyone else, and believe that you are among the best, if not the best at what you do. And if you aren’t among the best yet, then you should be working harder than anyone to get there because you believe that you are good enough to be in that top 5%. Being an elitist means you take your passion more seriously than others do, and as such demand more of yourself and hold yourself to higher standards than the rest of the population does. For instance, some of the code I write would probably make an elite programmer sick to his stomach. To me, all that matters is that it works - I could care less how elegant or how well optimized the solution is. I have lower standards and thus I have the attitude of a non-elitist. Does it matter? Only if I’m trying to be a good programmer, in which case I had better change my attitude real quick.

Whether you run a business or paint, win law cases or play professional sports, write code or write novels - you should have the attitude of an elitist for whatever your passion is. You work harder and do the things that the other 95% are not willing to do. You know you are better than them and will be recognized among the elite. If not today, then eventually. It’s your destiny.