Redefining Greatness with Humility

What then, is greatness? And how does one redefine it? These questions are tough to answer for many individuals, including those who appear on the surface to be successful.

To be great. We see greatness redefined in a negative sense, as when one falls from grace. When one is "heir to the throne," only to realize there is no kingdom, and the company who was grooming them finds them no longer necessary.

That is when one's best opportunity to redefine greatness may be. When the ladder you're climbing up no longer supports you. When phone calls go unanswered, and emails go unread. When innovation no longer pervades your thoughts. Instead, the floodgates open to: what do I do now.

Sound familiar? It does to me, resonates loudly from experiences I've had professionally and personally. But what I would not do, and what no one should do, is lay down and die! There is no time for that, unless you are literally lying in a bed in a hospital and there's a plug to pull. But even then, I say, don't give up.

Because here's what happens. What once was impossible, will seem possible. What once was improbable, will become so. And if you (or I) would have given up, the world would have missed our new greatest moment. Our resurgence. Our reemergence. Our "Failure to Launch" vertically becomes our greatest PR in this race we call life, only in a totally new and horizontal direction.

So greatness redefined, amongst other things, is to never stop moving. If the door closes, go out the window, or to another door. If you can no longer climb, take a look at your surroundings. Does it lie ahead, instead of above you, or even beside you?

My first manager's most valuable advice was, "the answers are in the room". Whether there's 1500 people in that room, or if you're the only soul. The answer most definitely lies within.

1. Life. Fitness. Love. Choose all of the above.