Greatness

“Greatness” is a pretty preposterous title for a blog post isn’t it? In all seriousness, who gets to decide what is or is not greatness? Actually greatness is an elusive word in and of itself. What defines greatness? Is greatness a comparison something or someone? Is there even such a thing as greatness?

I just watched a clip of a 12 year old boy who is being lauded as the greatest classical composer to come along in 200 years. His greatness comes in the form of the gift of music. He just hears it, can write it down and symphonies, piano concertos, and fugues flow from him effortlessly. I am sure that he looks at his work and thinks, “I can do better”. It begs the question, is greatness who you are, what you do, or a result from effort to achieve a goal? I’m not really sure, but I think it might be all three.

I would like to believe that greatness is achieved through effort. I am a classically trained musician and while I am not being hailed as the next Mozart, I do have some talents that allow me to play the music more easily than most. If I had never spent the thousands of hours of practicing, the talent I was given would have never amounted to anything. It was my years of practicing and dedication to my craft that lead me to become the musician I am today. Interestingly enough, in some circles I am considered great, and in other circles, I am considered not so great. Truthfully, neither is right.

In business we are all trying to achieve some sort of greatness. (OK, well maybe not all of us.) We look to achieve what others consider greatness. I think greatness is so fleeting that it needs to be judged from within our own selves. Yes, we all have deadlines and numbers we have to achieve. I am speaking more to how we handle our day. A receptionist and a CEO can both be great at what they do and it would be ridiculous to suggest anything otherwise. How do we bring ourselves to reach and step beyond our comfort zone? Don’t seek the label of greatness from others. Be the best you can be at what you do and seek the greatness inside yourself. Be the great building engineer. Be the great Manager, CEO or salesperson. Be the great store clerk. Define for yourself your own greatness, live up to your own standards.  Don't worry about labels others give you.  Achieve from within.