What is Greatness?

For this, I hope you disagree with me. The question of what greatness is is as relative as the experience of life. Therefore, this does not in any way represent what you believe in. However, it is important to have your definition, so think of this as a trigger for your thought process. If you agree with something, well, okay. If you do not, find what you do not agree with and define that for yourself.

I will begin by saying that greatness is internal before it is external.
The what is comes before the what if.
Let me use fire to illustrate my point. You see the most beautiful flame you have ever witnessed. That is inspiration. There can be millions of sparks, millions of witnesses, millions of opinions about that fire. But you do not take a spark from it; you simply witness it. Something within you recognises it, and that is your eureka.
The best thing about this is that you create your own spark. Sure, it may be borrowed, but you are not copying; you are dreaming of recreating it in your own image. That, for me, is how greatness starts. You do not need to know that there is a spark inside you. But eventually, if you tend to it, it becomes something worth recognising. First, you need to see your starting point clearly and allow yourself to dream.

Now, back to the fire. If you can inspire others to want to be like you, then you are great. The fire you started inspiring someone else into a life of arson (metaphorically speaking, of course) needs to be recognised as great by itself. A lot of people are searching for a starting point, and if you can give someone that, then you deserve at least some flowers. This demonstrates that greatness can transcend an individual. It does not have to be extraordinary. You do not need to be recognised on the world stage to be an inspiration. You will hear people say, “My father is great,” or “My mother is great,” and you cannot really argue otherwise. There is no template for greatness, and I am not trying to create one. I just know that if you can inspire someone to want to be better than they already are, that is at least some level of greatness.

But here is a preposterous claim: you do not need people to be great. How dare I? Let me redeem myself. We all have the same amount of time. What we choose to do with it is our choice, at least to some point. Greatness, although hard to achieve in isolation, can be solitary. You can do amazing things by yourself and rise to be one of the greats. Greatness does not need to be witnessed as it happens. Witnesses are for recognition, but greatness exists despite recognition. That is why there is something to recognise. This is a beautiful kind of greatness because it is very hard to corrupt and manipulate. You do something extraordinary by and for yourself. What I refuse to accept is that greatness requires social validation. That greatness needs democracy. Your spark is personal, but remember, greatness is the flame; whether we see it is your choice or a product of circumstances. I would bet there is a deep history of greatness that we do not know about. Does not mean it didn’t happen. Sure, greatness cannot be achieved in a complete vacuum. You undoubtedly need support in gathering something like knowledge, etc. But once you have that, the question becomes: what next?
You do not need to heavily rely on anyone to be great unless you are running for office. But even then, the question is what you do when you get there. We have leaders who have single-handedly transformed governments. They did not do this as individuals; sure, they had a system. But they acted in solitude. We recognise them, then the system.

Now, what about talent? These people seem to know what they are doing. Surely talent has to make someone great, right? Not really. Talent makes you good. And as brutal as this sounds, you did nothing to earn it. It is just luck. Sure, we can argue that greatness needs at least some luck, but that does not have to be talent. People can make it to the top with or without it. But here is the thing: we do not measure greatness from the starting point. The game is rigged. Life is not fair. Talent is a privilege; greatness is not. We cannot disregard that you will be better, that you will learn and grow faster. But greatness cannot be measured in speed; easy come, easy go. You need to be consistent. They say patience pays, not that patience is a charity. Greatness is not just about the finish line either.
It is not the source, nor the destination.
It is the navigation.
That is what we appreciate. That is what talent alone can never give you. We cannot disregard talent, but we should never overstate its importance in shaping greatness.

So where does that leave us? I do not have a final answer, and I am not sure I want one. Greatness is not a rank, a reward, or a destination. It is not measured by talent, by witnesses, or by the size of your stage. It is a fire you recognise, recreate, and sometimes, if you are lucky, pass on. It can change the world or change one person. It can be shared or solitary. But it always begins the same way: internally. Not with a spark you take, but with a spark you make. That is my definition. Now find yours. And if you disagree, good. That is exactly what I hoped for.

To be continued…