From Good to Great

There is a difference between being just good and being really great.

Think about the things you are good at. Now, take that image of what you do well and imagine yourself as the ABSOLUTE BEST at it. When people speak of you, they use words like “legendary,” “once-in-a-lifetime,” and “transcendent” to describe your talent. You become the benchmark for excellence. And, when others enter the same field, they study your style, your technique, your choices. They want to understand how it is that you do what you do.

Do you know the real difference between just being good and being really great? Enthusiasm. The real difference between good and great is enthusiasm. Seems simple, right? Genius – or greatness – is the accumulated enthusiasm of the individual in some chosen field. The difference between you now and you as the greatest at what you do is the amount of accumulated enthusiasm you have for what you do.

Consider two football teams playing for a title. Perhaps they came to the Super Bowl with the same number of wins in the regular season. Or, perhaps both were undefeated. However they match up, only one will win the title, Super Bowl Champion.

Talent gets you a shot at the title. But, enthusiasm determines whether you take home the Super Bowl ring.

Another word for enthusiasm is heart.

Talent is not the determining factor for success. Many predicted that the Indianapolis Colts would win yesterday's game. Talent only tells you where success can happen. Enthusiasm – or heart – determines whether success will happen. Heart determines whether you go home the winner or the runner-up. The New Orleans Saints proved that.

Heart determines whether you will be merely good or the absolute best.

What do you have the heart to be the absolute best at?