Good vs Great

I had a talk with my friend last night. Since he is a few years younger than me, he confronts things a few years after I have, but he is always a few steps further ahead than I ever was. So needless to say, our conversations are always enlightening for the both of us.

But this was his thought. Not a new thought by any means, but the way delivery made so much sense I haven't stopped thinking about the simplistic ability to which it can be implemented. With each decision in life, we have an uncanny ability to water down our lives because of the inability most of us to possess to rationally distinguish between what is good for us and what would be great.

Somehow we have a desire to do all things well but few of us do one thing great. Why is that? I know for me, negatively it is because I cannot focus, positively it is because I want to be good at everything. As if I am competing with everyone for their strength, I want to be able to at least fight them and look admirable in that fight. I feel left out when I don't know about something, so I research it to understand it at least a little bit. But I believe I am doing myself a disservice. For one, I have the information of the world streamed through my phone. So if I want to know I can google, wikipedia, or digg some information about it instantly. Secondly, if I want to be good at any one thing, I must devote some time to it. I cannot be even remotely good at guitar if I refuse to practice more than one week. And if I want to be great at guitar, then I must devote at least years, if not my entire life.

Obviously, I cannot devote my entire life to everything and then be great at everything. I must pick a few things. Leo Bubata hits this point head on in his book The Power of Less. He cuts down your goal list to 3 things for an entire year. This is something I have not been able to do, but then again, I have not accomplished my 3 main goals either. So I think he is right. But to conclude, is this not the truth? We cannot say yes to everything if we want to be really great at anything. Not only does it take discipline, it takes humility to accept defeat in some areas in order to go for gold in the key areas. Cut the minutae (as Tim Ferriss refers to the all the distractions that keep us from our focus), and quit wasting time that keeps us from getting closer to great. I am sure that Lance Armstrong wasn't reading up on anything but cycling for the years he was crushing the Tour de France. So the next time you think about looking into something that could be really good, ask yourself if it is worth being good, at the expense of being great.

Am I working enough?

In the age of information, I read up on nearly all types of businesses. Inc. Magazine is great at comprising all great businesses into one periodical so I can get a feel for industry standards. They have the Inc 500 and 5000, they have the top 30 under 30 (which is a small goal for me), and they always have the most innovative companies of the year among a million other sources for entrepreneurs.

Where am I going with this? If this is the benchmark, where should I be? I read about these companies that are profitable within a year or two and grossing around $500,000-$2 million or more. Me? I am profitable, but I only netted about $500 total. Do I suck? What is wrong with me? I look at my sales team (me) and pull out the pep talks, look at the sales goals, etc. They are unresponsive. Why do I not have a team of salesman to keep my work force busy 8 hours a day, 6 days a week? Am I incompetent?

I talk with my friend who has a multi-million dollar landscaping company and he tells me to calm down. Really? Calm down?! Aren't these what goals are for? Shouldn't I be working my ass off to get things going?! If I am not something, I am nothing!

No, I don't think so. I think I should calm down. No need for an ulcer before I turn 24. Yeah, I am not even 24. It was only a few years ago that I actually needed to start shaving regularly. I guess I don't need my Aston Martin next year. I will get that before I am 30, but next year will be my Kawasaki Ninja. That's for sure. These are the learning years.