One simple step to being Great

I have filled many roles in my professional life from software developer to business owner. I have been a jack of all trades and master of none. Sometimes I have felt like a guy sitting on a beach and running with what ever washes up on shore. Think "Wilson" from Cast Away.

For almost a year now I have been trying to be intentional about my direction. It has taken me quite a bit of introspection before I could draw any definitive conclusions. I suspect this is true for most people as few people are fortunate enough to identify desire and aptitude early in life.

I have come up with several things that are intertwined and represent different aspects of my life such as husband, father, community member, business leader,etc. During this process I tried to distill down to the absolute essence of how I could be great for these different roles. Over an evening glass of wine last week it hit me. Complete dedication to a single endeavor is Greatness.

I wanted to see how my epiphany measured up. After weeding through various quotes from "great" people about greatness I came across Fortune:Secrets of Greatness by Geoffrey Colvin. It seems that I may be on to something-- the relentless pursuit seems to be the defining factor. So why doesn't everybody become great? Because it is difficult. Have you ever spent several hours every day over a ten year period trying to be the best at something? Few people have and that is precisly why greatness is in limited supply.

Perhaps the hardest question each of us faces is not whether or not we pursue greatness but what endeavor will we dedicate ourselves to.

Anyone can be great so choose your greatness and choose to be great everyday. What's stopping you?

Tim Symchych