[HybridCurve]

I do not agree with the author marketing elitism here as a desirable characteristic. There is nothing wrong with raising your standards for quality or working to be excellent within your profession but elitism generally tends embody arrogance, social stratification or other exclusionary attitudes.

You might inclined to disagree with "Well, he said 'this technical elitism' and then gave his own definitions so... ". Yes, he said that, and then proceeded to suggest it's not just acceptable, but desirable to view efforts below your standards with disgust.

There was no implication of mindfulness or humility in this process, only that it was an effective way to self motivate. There is a difference between what is sufficient and what is unacceptable. If you set your standard at excellence then anything less would be unacceptable. Tempting a mechanism as it may be for self judgement, it is a slippery slope because we often judge others to the standards we set for ourselves.