Is Your Success Undermining Your Dreams?

“Good is the enemy of great.”

This, the opening statement of Jim Collins’ Good to Great, is a primary cause of dream abandonment.

You’re good at what you do. You’ve got skills. You meet deadlines. Your projects meet client needs. You bring home a paycheck that keeps you and your family comfortable.

It’s so easy to rest on your laurels.

But if I were to ask you to visualize your dream life — how close are you?

Our Definitions of Success Change Over Time

How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten?

—Logan P. Smith

Did you grow up to be the firefighter, the veterinarian, or the President the way you wanted to?

At the age of 5, your definition of success was pretty simple. You wanted a job that would let you do cool stuff and help others.

As we grow, we fold into our visions stories of great people that have inspired us. People we know, and people we’ve only read about, who have overcome great odds, created and achieved notable things. People who have altered the landscape, reset the bar. And we begin to stretch our dreams. We aspire to be CEO, to cure cancer, to build success for others. We hope to support a worthwhile cause, launch a game-changing product, develop a new way of thinking or win national recognition.

We secretly wish to be larger-than-life.

So why aren’t we?

“It’s Meant for Some Other Guy”

Think about the people you consider great. If you have a minute, make a list. Go on. We’ll wait.

How long is the list? 5 people? A dozen?

When we compare our list of idols–typically people we’ve never met–with the list of people we know, it’s easy to get discouraged. Who are we to be the next Bill Gates? Warren Buffett? Mother Teresa? They’re one in millions.

And yet, they’re often no different from us to begin with.

Sometimes, the only difference is a lot of hard work.

The Difference is the Burning Desire for Greatness

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

–Thomas Edison

Greatness rarely comes easy. Greatness usually comes from the savvy exploitation of a particular gift–and the relentless pursuit of maximizing its effectiveness.

No, it’s not easy. And that’s why it’s rare.

Greatness often comes from thousands of tries to succeed and  thousands of hours of practice.

But greatness isn’t reserved for celebrities, the affluent, or “the other guy.”

Maybe your neighbor is a talented mentor for troubled youth. Perhaps your cousin is an exceptional troubleshooter. Maybe you’re secretly destined for America’s Got Talent.

All of these can be greatness. All can open doors to opportunities if leveraged properly.

What’s your call to change the world?

An Expanded Definition of Success

There’s nothing wrong with a successful life. A stable job, with opportunities to learn, and a good salary–it’s the American dream. But if you’re feeling the tug of something greater, your definition of success may be something larger than the norm.

The next time you ask yourself if you’re living your purpose… if there’s something greater out there for you… if you’re where you’re supposed to be, ask yourself this: Are you letting good be the enemy of great?

photo credit: Foxtongue

Related posts:

1. Are you the phoenix? Coping with career challenges
2. Taking the first step towards excellence
3. Interview Question of the Week: What has been your greatest success?
4. “Dream” is the ultimate action verb
5. The “What if?” factor

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