Tuesday, July 21, 2009

One Small Step

How do you measure greatness? We all want it. We all have a certain desire within us to do something different. We do not want to just fall into the routine of life with a mediocre job and settle for less than we are capable of. Just because we all have this desire doesn’t necessarily mean that we reach it. How come? Why do we often sell ourselves short? Why do we settle for less then greatness? Many people would say that life throws some pretty hard punches and as long as you learn to take the hits you will be fine. I think that is cowardly. Please, do yourself a favor and don’t just take the hit, but move forward and strike back!

So often in our lives we compare ourselves to other people. “She has the bag I want.” “His car is sweet.” “Why can’t I have the life he has?” “Wow, they really have done something with their lives and made a difference in this world.” In a world that seems to focus so much on ourselves, we tend to do a lot of outward gazing. In a society that focuses on ME ME ME, why is our gaze fixed on the other person? Just because what we are doing is different from someone else, does not take away the fact that we have the potential to achieve the greatness we want and desire.

We just celebrated the 40th anniversary of our first successful trip to the moon. Do you think that Neil Armstrong woke up one day as a 6 year old farm boy and said, “I am going to be the first man to walk on the moon.” I highly doubt that. What he did say was, “I am going to be a pilot one day.” For him, there was nothing greater than flying a plane. He chased down that dream and achieved that greatness. At the age of 16, before he even had his driver’s license, he attained a pilot’s license. Now, did his desire for greatness or rather, his CALL to greatness end there? Absolutely not.

Neil Armstrong was said to be one of the greatest pilots in American history. As a Navy pilot, he fought in the Korean War. He flew in just under 80 combat missions and won 3 Air Medals. He returned from war and began working for NACA (NASA’s predecessor) as a test pilot. There was not an aircraft that he didn’t know how to fly. He was great at what he did. But did his call to greatness end there? NO.

He was elevated to the status of Astronaut and commanded the Gemini 8 mission and of course the Apollo 11 mission, for which he is remembered. He was awarded many medals and honors when he returned from the Apollo 11 mission. He continued his call to greatness by becoming a professor of Aerospace Engineering and serving for the United States Government. Anyone who hears the name Neil Armstrong will think it to be synonymous with the word greatness.

Just because I am not going to be the first man to walk on Mars, cure Cancer, or do something else that will change the world, does not mean that I am not called to greatness. Although I had dreams of becoming a Military pilot, astronaut, and a professional baseball player, I have come to realize that I am not called to do those things. Those do not fit into my call to greatness. Regardless of what I end up doing with my life, I know that it will be something I am called to do. It will be great.

Greatness is not measured by one triumphant event, medals, or stock market portfolios. It is not the quantity of what you do, but the quality in which you do it. It is not based on what you have, but what you give. Your greatness is attainable. Rather than focusing on who you might become or what you might do in the future, center your attention on who you are right now. Become the best you can be at whatever it is do right now. Like Neil Armstrong, the moon shouldn’t be our focal point, but rather our focus must be on becoming the best pilot we can be. Once we do that, the doors will keep opening and the effects are out of this world.