Greatness — just about the most infatuated word largely synonymous with the degree of personal achievement. Like the words “success, happiness, and self-worth” the word “greatness” is subjected to personal interpretation, yet if you asked a large group of people, their answers as to whom they considered great would be oddly similar. Then, we might ask: What are the common denominators that underline greatness through the lens of history? The following article aims to answer just this key consideration.
P1: Personal vs Social Greatness
Is greatness a personal standard of excellence or a social exemplification of moral virtue? For the past year, I have taken a look at over 100 inspirational people and companies I deem “great” in an attempt to arrive at a point where I could claim I knew what greatness encapsulates. The research study showed 2 major findings:
Greatness can only be a reflection of what you value. Greatness is a personal endeavor where we use confirmation bias to seek people, concepts, and organizations that reflect our own set of values. Some of my values are honesty and hard work which is why I deemed the likes of Paul Graham and Gandhi as great people. Strikingly, people often share similar values, leading them toward similar ideals of greatness.
In order to manifest social greatness, your values must guide your actions which must work in accordance with the values of a large enough group of people that can then reflect your values onto themselves, i.e a deep conviction of your personal values must be the formation of your personal greatness which can only then be the formation of much larger social greatness.
If people truly do reflect others’ values onto their own, what values do the “greatest” people possess so that most people are concordant with them, i.e. what values resonate most?
My personal set of beliefs is that greatness may be thought of in regard to how you make people feel. There are 3 main congruent factors:
Amount: The number of individuals who connect with your values.
Intensity: The urgency of the need for improvement.
Timing: Intrinsic qualities of the present that motivate change.
According to the factors mentioned above, this means we deem people the greatest when we find ourselves in the most desperate times that require the most attentiveness/intensity and in which we share our struggle with as many other people in our tribe as possible. People/organizations are considered great when they address a desperate intensive need by touching the hearts of many people around them. Let me give you some examples:
Winston Churchill is largely known for his exquisite role as the Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Second World War. It had been the year of 1941. France, Benelux, and Poland had largely conceived to the supreme Nazi forces. As of late, the British Royal Air Force had also been subjected to violent bombarding by the Nazi “Luftwaffe” of the larger British cities. With the entire nation desperately clinging to the final war supplies, morale was in several deficits. By then, Winston Churchill delivered the famous “Blood, toil, tears and Sweat” speech arguing to the English people to stay put and defend their country with everything they’ve got even if it is indeed going to take “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”. Winston delivered upon his promise. You see, people reflected Winston Churchill’s values of persistence, fighting, and love for his own country with their own. Here’s how the 3 congruent factors work together in this case:
Amount: The entire British nation. One could argue the entire world.
Intensity: How desperate? If they don’t fight, they’re dead.
Timing: People are in severe psychological and material deprivation. The timing is asking for a change.
Prljavo Kazalište is a Croatian rock’n’roll band largely unheard of to the rest of the world, but vastly important to the Croatian nation. Why? During the horrific independence war from Yugoslavia, the Croatian people resorted to their last shred of hope — their music. From the northern capital of Zagreb to the Dalmatian capital of Split, people and children alike will nostalgically pour their hearts out to every one of their songs. The 3 factors work together for the band as well:
Amount: The entire Croatian nation.
Intensity: People are desperate to find some peace, some comfort, some joy under the sun to adjust for the sadness they incurred during the war.
Timing: War has taken their loved ones and their homes, and decimated their neighborhoods. It is essential to stop fighting and lift their spirits.
Greatness cannot be forced. If we were to arrive at a recipe for achieving greatness, it might look like this:
Stand for something! — First, the person/collective must possess a deep set of personal values and/or beliefs that make it stand out. Focus on being the only one, not being the best. We love people who stand for something even if don’t agree with their set of beliefs. We work best in uniform tribes with leaders who hold high positive convictions. Devote yourself to what the Japanese call the “kodawari” — a deeply ingrained personal standard of excellence. Beware: Authenticity resonates the most with people. You can only develop your inner “kodawari”; your inner greatness if you’re authentic to your true self.
Attentiveness — Secondly, become attentive to how your message resonates with people. My personal set of beliefs is that greatness boils down to the amount and intensity of how you make people feel.
Timing(might be out of your control) — Thirdly, form a tribe around your message and allow that message to transcend the people in the group. Your values will resonate most when people are in their deepest need to confirm their values, i.e. fragile desperate moments, like war.
Conclusion
Through the examples of Winston Churchill and Prljavo Kazalište, we learned greatness can be perceived as the amount of people and the intensity of emotions they feel. Greatness has little to do with how highly we think of ourselves. Rather, it is the combined set of values, i.e. what you stood for and how you made people feel as a consequence of your personal greatness. When you make enough people feel good, your legacy lasts a generation, sometimes into eternity.
