I believe I have heard two leadership guru's say this statement in one way or another...."Greatness is not something that you seek out to achieve as an end result to a process...it is something that happens (or you do) daily"
If one was to critically examine the paths and stories behind great people, for sure the above statement would be confirmed. Greatness cannot be attributed to a single event within ones life. Even though to the outside world, it may seem so....the reality is, a lot of work, thought, effort has happened daily in that person's life in order to culminate in that one single event.
Mandela's triumph in the 1990's when South Africa was freed from Apartheid did not lie in that one single day. It was a long journey that included 27 years in prison. Behind every Olympic gold medal won, you will find hard work, determination, self-drive, tears, pain, hurt, sacrifice..... borne over many many days. I believe you would also agree with the fact that not every greatness story makes it to the headlines...not every hero is celebrated or remembered. Where am I leading to? The book. Everyday Greatness. A book filled with the kind of greatness we never get to hear about or see in the headlines. This type of greatness happens in our lives everyday, with the people around us at home, at work, on the street..everywhere but many times, nobody is there to tell the story, take a picture and shout about it from the rooftop. Yet...greatness happens and it will continue to do so. It's rare to find a book that captures these stories all in one....and I can tell you for sure..I found the book! I found it...I say.
The title of the book has two meanings to me.
1. Everyday Greatness - As in....the day to day things that we do, the choices that we make, the values that we choose that culminate in 'Greatness" as I inferred above.
2. Everyday Greatness - As in.... what we can term as "kawaida" (normal) acts that occur in our lives daily and will never be highlighted in the news or papers, yet matters a lot. The kind of greatness that we casually 'walk by" in the streets without a single glance...the kind of greatness that happens in our homes daily.
When you examine the stories in this book...they touch on either one of the above areas....and sometimes both. I treasure this book very much, not only because it was given me as a gift by someone dear to me at FranklinCovey (Stephen Covey's organisation) but because when I started reading it, the stories touched me so deeply, so so movingly that tears come to my eyes when I remember some of them. ITS A MUST READ and here's why.
Everyday Greatness has a foreword and insights from the late Dr. Stephen Covey but really....it's a combination of stories previously published by the Reader's Digest. To quote Dr. Covey's introduction ...
"Occasionally, the world witnesses a heroic feat or discovers a person with rare talent...But most people know there is another type of greatness that tends to be more quiet by nature, one that generally escapes the headlines. Yet it is a greatness that in opinion is deserving of higher honour, even more respect. I call it Everyday Greatness."
Dr. Covey's introduction further goes into breaking down the roots of Everyday Greatness. He reckons that the answer lies in three daily choices, choices that each of us make every day of our life, whether we are consciously aware of them or not. Those choices are: -
- The Choice to Act - i.e. Will we act upon life or will we merely be acted upon?
- The Choice of Purpose - Many of us make the choice to act, only to find that we made poor choices - choices that turned out to be of no value to ourselves or to others, some perhaps even hurtful. So alone, the choice to act is not sufficient. To what ends or purpose will our daily choices lead?
- The Choice for Principles - Enjoying a life rich in meaning and progress - a life of Everyday greatness - comes only as we live in harmony with timeless, universal principles. Will we live our lives in accordance with proven principles or will we suffer the consequences of not doing so?
Dr. Covey reckons that the people who exhibit Everyday Greatness in today's world - distinguish themselves through their responses to these three choices. The collection of stories he says, is not intended to highlight what others have done or said, but rather to encourage you to examine your own life. What YOU contribute on a daily basis. How you treat people. How you use your time. Whether you are doing good or doing your best. He asks some pertinent questions in ending his introduction.
- Is your life like driftwood being tossed to and fro, or are you instead making your own waves and going in directions you - by choice - want to go?
- To what ends, or purposes, are your daily choices leading? To what ends, or purposes, would you like them to lead?
- Is your life in harmony with timeless, universal principles?
The stories in the book are categorised into 21 different principles like Courage, Humility, Respect, Vision, Innovation, Unity, Empathy etc.
ITS A GREAT READ! Pick it up as soon as possible.
