America wants us to work towards a skewed definition of success. Step on as many toes as you have to. Burn all the bridges it takes. Just get to the top. Money will bring you happiness. Fame will cement your place in history.
It’s wrong. It’s sad. It’s got to change.
We’re told we should always be striving for success instead of striving for greatness. In a terrific interview (which you need to watch), Cornel West says there is a very distinct difference between success and greatness. He said success is “worldly…financial gain….living in the vanilla suburb. It can become not only idolatrous, but poisonous to one’s soul.”
On the contrary, Mr. West says, “Greatness is about being a better, more compassionate human being.”
If that’s the case, how much easier is it to strive for greatness instead of success? Not only is greatness easier to achieve, but it’s also more important. What if everyone we knew was working towards being a better, more compassionate human being?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is “It’s about relationships, not accomplishments.” I try and remind myself of that every day. When people ask me, “How do you have time to meet with people when you’re so busy doing other things?” I share the quote above with them and say, “I’m not too busy for people.”
Too many of us are driven by things secondary to what life is all about. We aren’t putting people first. If you are living your life and putting material things above people, your priorities are all out of whack.
You think a big house is more important than friendships? You think compassion and serving other people is lower on the list than financial success? Really? If you think that, let’s sit down and have a talk. No amount of words on a webpage will show you the light (but I’ll try to shake some sense into you).
If you are pursuing the path to success, rather than the path to greatness, it’s never too late to push the reset button. Reevaluate where you are. Are you on the path where you should be going—putting people ahead of things? Strive for greatness, and I promise you’ll achieve it (and make this world a better place on the way).