The Pursuit of Greatness - Is ‘Great’ a comparative or a choice?

As I sit in this plane on my way back from GitHub Universe (and San Francisco - yes they apply differently), I can’t help but think not only of the amazing experience but also the amazing people I met. People doing great things in their own way and it fills me with (or perhaps renews) the desire to want to be great at my craft.

I am lucky to love the job that I do, and to have a manager like Angie Jones that pushes me to be even better, but I’m also very aware there’s more I could do in this world.

Which led me to my question, is great comparative? I want to be great - is that in comparison to others or is that just absolute?

What does the dictionary say?

Before going too far, English points this out as an adjective - but taking a cue from “hey hi” with some context injection - being great can mean different things in different contexts. In this one, it could be a superlative of good and best in another context.

Here’s a quote from Dr Albert Erskine in Captain America

The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.

I want to be great

But looking at great specifically, are you great in comparison to your peers? Or is it an absolute based on the value of what you do especially when you COMPARE (side eye) your impact to what could be generally considered good.

My gut says it’s absolute. I want to be great because I want to be proud of what I do. I want to be happy with the impact that my actions, content, work and life has on the world.

I want to sit and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe that is a little better because I exist.

But why is the desire even greater when I see others doing amazing things as well? As I type this, I think it’s a mixture of admiration and inspiration - and I got a ton of that seeing the people I look up to thriving and doing what they seem to love in great, impactful ways.

And I’m grateful to them for it.

To be inspired

I loved Timothee’s Chalamet’s speech talking about being in pursuit of greatness - I think that’s what makes greatness in the first place - the journey that backs up what you say - more than a destination. Choosing excellence every chance you get. The awards or recognitions don’t make you feel great, I believe it starts from the inside and the choices we make.

I’m as inspired by LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Muhammad Ali as I am by my mother, my friends, family, and colleagues; as I am by Angie Jones, Kelsey Hightower; as I am by Ogeh Ezeonu, Ire Aderinokun and Prosper Otemuyiwa; as I am by Rocky Balboa, Tony Stark, and the countless, random dreamers on the internet who keep pushing forward despite failure. I’m inspired by your pursuit of greatness.

How does one know they are great

Sit up because I’m about to spill a secret.

Being great is a never ending destination that begins the moment you have a track record of pursuing excellence and creating value. This cuts across all areas of life - professional, personal relationships, the way we think, make others feel and more.

Actually, maybe it’s not that much of a secret but yes, what constitutes greatness varies from person to person.

So how do you measure greatness

How do I measure the skill it takes Angie Jones to bring energy to a talk and deliver with great technical expertise even when the crowd has been bored from previous talks. How do I measure what Jason Lengstorf is able to inspire with his content. Do we think the impact or greatness of FreeCodeCamp’s courses and videos on YouTube are accurately quantified by the number of views they have? I look at many more people I consider great and many of them would even refuse to agree that they think they are already great. But like I said earlier it starts from a choice to pursue excellence - it’s a way of life.

I’ll leave you with this beautiful quote from Ray Hudson about Messi, and hope that I continue to have it in me to pursue what I deem as greatness.

It’s not the statistics… It’s not the statistics… It’s not the statistics!!! You don’t measure that by statistics. It’s immeasurable …In your statistics, you tell me. How do you measure somebody that could balance a balloon in a wind tunnel on a needle… Because Messi is capable of that.

As good as this article felt to write, you reading and it having any impact on you, has the potential to make it great. But then, what does great mean to you?