Pursuit of greatness

The reading level for this article is All Levels

Recently I have been attending a great deal of events to network with others in the Chicago business community and as usual have found the topic for this message. It seems to me that way too many individuals I have met are more concerned about semblance then they are about substance, and I don’t want you to be led astray. I believe that far too many people are impressed with people who have impressive titles. They believe that if someone has a M.D., PHD. , JD., or MBA he or she is insightful and wise. Well don’t let that fool you, because degrees and titles mean absolutely nothing in the real business world. Some of the dumbest people I have ever met had advanced degrees behind their names and some of the smartest people I ever met don’t even know what those degrees are. Hell I have one of those myself.

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Aristotle made the distinction between titles and accomplishment when he wrote, “Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.”

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A title is just a piece of paper. I believe what’s important is your ability, not your title. In life as in sports you have to prove your self. Do you believe IBM cared if Bill Gates had initials/titles? Heck no! They were interested in his product. All they wanted was for him to crank out that software. The bottom line was, are you competent- can you produce? And that is the way I feel it should be â€"competence-performance, believe me that’s the way it is in sports. Just because Michael Jordan shows up you don’t think all the other players say, “ Oh, Michael here we lost the game.” No way! They’re going to make him prove he’s the best every time he walks on the court. They could care less that he is considered the best player ever to play the game. Of course, Jordan can prove his worth when he walks on the court; he’s worked his whole life in order to develop his skills. He did not stop training after he was recognized as the greatest player in his sport. He forged on because he knew he would have to prove himself over and over again.

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Unfortunately, that’s not the case with most Chicagoans. They get a degree or title and they tend to rest on their laurels. I believe this is a large mistake of significant consequences. Through that kind of immobility you will never grow, and you will never change. I think we need to recognize a basic law of nature; that which does not grow dies. A life that is lived within fixed limits and travels only the well-worn paths of habit and routine is diminished greatly by failing to recognize that we live in a constant state of change. In fact, we live in a fast paced dynamic society that just doing nothing we fall way behind.

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As I mentioned before, in life you have to prove yourself each and every day. You can’t rest on your accolades. Once you think you have it made, you will reach a cumulative point, inertia will breed, and before you know it you will be on a backslide. I believe that it’s in your best interest to never be totally dissatisfied, but to be always unsatisfied. I don’t care where you are in life, you are still nowhere.

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Wherever you are you are just beginning. There is more to be realized by a hundred fold than where you are now. Consequently, we should always be reaching out, experimenting, learning, and growing. The pursuit of greatness is a life-long activity. Each day we should learn something new about the world, and in so doing we will never again be the same. You have to work long and hard if you want to really grow. And always remember that which does not grow, dies.

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