Now that I'm on a quest for questions, I'm shocked that I'm starting to see good ones everywhere. Almost like when you're buying a red Toyota Prius and all of a sudden, all you see on the road are red Toyota Prius'.
On my way to the gym yesterday, I drove past a building that had a huge banner that read, "Why be good when great is an option?"
I was so taken by the question that I now realize that I have no idea what business the banner was promoting. It's an inspiring question, but it misses something important - the difference between good and great isn't as simple as looking at a list and thinking, well, I was going to choose good, but since great is an option, I'll go with that!
The difference between good and great is work. It doesn't happen by magic.
I like great. In fact, I love great. And when great is important, great is worth the work. Great is inspiring. Great is motivating. Great is, well, great.
But I'm also willing to stand up and speak on behalf of good. Good is, well, good. And those who will tell you that they strive for great every minute, every time, in every situation may have forgotten how good that good can be. And for those of us who are managing multiple responsibilities and attentions (and isn't that really ALL of us?), need to use judgement as to when great is worth it and when good is good enough.
So I propose a modification to the question... When good and great are options, which one is the best use of my time and talents for this particular goal? I'm confident that if I give it some thought in each unique situation, that indeed would be great.
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