4 Practices that Lead to "Greatness"

I am a mediocre guitarist, I enjoy it though. I enjoy the way the guitar feels against my body. I like the familiarity of the strings and the chords. I'm sure if I practiced more I'd get a little better, but I'm probably never going to be a great guitarist. And I'm ok with that.  Does that mean that I'll never achieve greatness? Probably not as a guitarist... But what about other areas of life?

How can we achieve greatness in the areas that are most important to us?

Integrity
We all agree that we should do the right thing, so why don't we? Humanity's ablity to rationalize pulls us off the beam more often than not.  Research shows that while most students agree that cheating is wrong about 95% of them admit to having cheated in the past. We rationalize that it's not a big deal, everyone does it, it's not hurting anyone... so how can we maintain our sense of integrity when most everyone is letting it slide.  If we decide to be that 5% who don't cheat, then that differentiates us from the rest. That sense of integrity tips the scales from average to great.

Compassion

• When working for the client, are you thinking about how your work is helping them achieve their goals? 
• Are you practicing a genuine compassion for their professional lives? 
• What's the political climate in their office? Or if they are not working in an office, what else is going on in their lives that could affect their stress level?  

Thinking of all of these things guides decision making. Putting others before yourself. And that, friends, is the way to ensure that you're always coming from a place of compassion.

Your Best

Having an others first mentality is the starting point. Adding to that is the commitment to bringing your "A" game every time.  For example, when I'm working on a document for a client, I will finish it and then I'll go back and ask myself, "Is this the absolute best you can do?" If there is anything I can do to plus it up, then I take the time to make it just a little bit better.

Personal Responsiblity
Know what you’re responsible for, own it 100% but stay in your lane. Don’t try doing other people’s job for them. That robs them of the opportunity to take responsiblity themselves. Personal responsiblity is not only about taking responsiblity for yourself but it's also about setting clear boundaries.  Allow people the space to do their best. That means, you're gonna have to trust 'em. Trust is imperative when teaming. If you can't trust your team then perhaps its time to take a look at your self and your team and see if you can ferret out the why behind the mistrust.  Perhaps its internal. Perhaps trust is hard for you, maybe it's an area for growth.

At the end of the day, maybe greatness isn't a destination, maybe it's a journey from where we are to where we want to be. With time, practice and maturity we can get a little closer to greatness I'll probably never be a great guitar player but I do plan on being a great mother, wife, friend, producer, writer and R+F consultant.

What about you? How do you interpret "greatness"?