GOOD NARRATIVE. GREAT STORY.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
There is something within us that strives for greatness. From the earliest of age, we are encouraged and even required to be great.
Our human lens of mediocracy demands to be removed when we see greatness in action. Because we live in a world where average translates to, “just good enough,” we pursue greatness at all cost—even if it is through a vicarious relationship with another.
Our human lens of mediocracy demands to be removed when we see greatness in action.
In his best selling book, “Good To Great,” Jim Collins writes that the enemy of the great is good. He argues that when we settle for good things, we relinquish the possibility of the great.
I can see the value in Collin’s words. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve settled for good things when great things could have been achieved, received, obtained and accomplished.
Yet, I have also found that all things good don’t have to be viewed as second best. Good things don’t always have to translate to “just good enough.”
When we pit good against the great, we create an unhealthy competition between the life we have and the life we want. When this happens, we relinquish the greatness in our present moment for the sake of future greatness.
We want to have a great career, so we neglect good times with family, friends and loved ones. We want to have a great house, so we ignore moments created in the place we currently call home.
In the pursuit of greatness, good doesn’t have to be viewed as a consolation prize.
The life of Dr. Martin Luther King exemplifies how a collective pursuit of good things can achieve great results. Dr. King came to the explosive realization that the true enemy of good isn’t great, but the oppressive existence of bad. When it comes to the human spirit and dignity, average conditions may very well be bad situations.
In the pursuit of greatness, good doesn’t have to be viewed as a consolation prize.
The true enemy to greatness is when a human being is treated “less than” human. When given the choice between the good and the bad, we will always gravitate towards the former.
Because of the oppressive and deplorable posture toward those considered “less than,” Martin Luther King began a journey of consistent, continual and persistent acts of goodness. He understood that greatness was (and is) a collection and result of consistent acts of goodness.
He discovered the freedom that comes with releasing the pursuit of greatness and doing all things good in great ways.
Our pursuit of greatness should be a result of the good we strive for. There is so much good to be done with our lives, in our settings and for the world. If we seize every opportunity and allow it to become a moment of goodness, greatness will inevitably emerge.
A good smile, word, act and look can produce great results.
So today, as we remember the great Dr. Martin Luther King, let’s allow his legacy to remind us that greatness doesn’t have to be a thing to be achieved, but a posture to be obtained by our consistent doing, being and living of a good life.
Alright friends, let’s live today a story we’d want to tell tomorrow.
- Joel