Big question, right? How to be great?
Blogger, and developer Steph Smith has a fantastic take on this with respect to creative work.
The punchline is this:
To be great, just be good. Repeatedly.
I like that. There’s no wishing for a miracle or fate to sweep you away. There is only showing up every day and forming a habit.
(Part of the secret is that these things compound.)
3 of my favorite quotes from the piece:
Interestingly enough, I realized that it was not the sporadic highs that were exceptional, but instead the long hauls; the sequences of events that seemed minimal at each juncture, but compounded into major gains. This led me to think further about what greatness truly means. I’ve come to learn that it’s not about overnight successes or flashes of excellence, but periods of repeatable habits.
The best things in life often aren’t miracles, but well-thought out approaches that are sustainable. The same thing is true with businesses, marriages, and just about anything with repeatable elements. If you invest time into solving for what leads to success continuously, you will reap those benefits for years to come.
So if you’re still asking the question, “How do I become great in life?”, I would ask you to reframe the question as “How do I become good in life” or even “How do I become decent” and focus on developing those habits to repeat over time. Transform these habits to be your baseline.
