Good is the enemy of great. The easier it is to be good, the harder it is to great. If good comes easy to, great will elude you. Deciding to be great is a choice, a lonely one.
Rigid thinking is the enemy of innovation. “This is the way we have always done it” will stifle creativity and change. Being flexible and teachable is a choice and a commitment of Leadership.
Pessimism is easier than optimism. Any one can be a critic. Many people are. They are cowards. Most movie critics have never written a screen play or directed a movie. Dick Vitale was one of the worst coaches in NBA history and he has one of the biggest mouths in basketball. Odd isn’t it?
Teddy Roosevelt was right, It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
If you are an entrepreneur, my hat is off to you. You are a risk taker. You are in the arena. Stay teachable. Read good books. Listen to educational CD’s while you drive. Attend seminars. Invest in training for yourself and your team. Keep a journal. Be willing to listen to new ideas, no matter from whom they come. You will always receive a fine ROI. Deciding to be great is a choice. The price of leadership is loneliness. Browning wrote, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?”
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This is the Way We Have Always Done It
by Mark Matteson on January 18, 2013 in Commentary, Lessons
Good is the enemy of great. The easier it is to be good, the harder it is to great. If good comes easy to, great will elude you. Deciding to be great is a choice, a lonely one.
Rigid thinking is the enemy of innovation. “This is the way we have always done it” will stifle creativity and change. Being flexible and teachable is a choice and a commitment of Leadership.
Pessimism is easier than optimism. Any one can be a critic. Many people are. They are cowards. Most movie critics have never written a screen play or directed a movie. Dick Vitale was one of the worst coaches in NBA history and he has one of the biggest mouths in basketball. Odd isn’t it?
Teddy Roosevelt was right, It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
If you are an entrepreneur, my hat is off to you. You are a risk taker. You are in the arena. Stay teachable. Read good books. Listen to educational CD’s while you drive. Attend seminars. Invest in training for yourself and your team. Keep a journal. Be willing to listen to new ideas, no matter from whom they come. You will always receive a fine ROI. Deciding to be great is a choice. The price of leadership is loneliness. Browning wrote, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?”
Tags: critics, entrepreneur, good, great, optimism, pessimism