Greatness

What makes a great person? Many people I know aspire to be a great person (which is a good thing) but when asked what defines a great person, all they could rant on are about revolutionary deeds that change the world for better or for worse (good or bad is a matter of perspective as well). They would quote several inspirational figures whom they aspire to be and rave about several exceptional qualities they possess. Yet many of these great people are essentially *normal people (*as in, it could be anyone as great people come from all walks of life and of various characteristics, and it could even be you!) usually born or subjected to certain situations or circumstances in which their actions proved extraordinary. If so, what truly makes a great person? What are the qualities that make greatness? If you looked carefully at the numerous cases, a common quality that these people possess is consistency.

For Apple fans, Steve Jobs can be considered a great person who was very consistent about the look-feel design of Apple products that give them their distinct character. Even Steve himself was very consistent in his wardrobe, choosing frequently to wear his iconic turtleneck. How about Jack Ma from Alibaba, he too was determined and consistent in his approach of managing the company, staying committed to the overall mission and strategy. Some people think action stars like Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan are great people who have inspired many through their shows; both had struggled early in their career but persisted and were consistent to present their own genre of action filming that has left an indelible impact in the industry (and people who were inspired). Sylvester is well known for the never-give-up boxer character, Rocky and one-man-army soldier, Rambo, while Jackie is known for his well-choreographed comedic style of action coupled with real-life death-defying stunts that he does his own. There are certainly too many prolific great people and to a certain measure, too many great companies for that matter, to be mentioned here; but all were consistent in their mission and the way they conducted themselves that it became their brand and discernable character.

Looking back in history, the one called Alexander the Great, who hails from Macedonia, was considered great because through a consistent method of military conquest against strong civilisations at that time, he conquered way beyond the Greek shores stretching as far as Egypt to the West and border of India to the East. He employed a consistent military tactic of expanding his army based a formula with elite phalanx as the core, as well as ensuring the conditions including terrain for battles for which this army could be effective in winning. There are many more such great conquerors and military leaders, which may cause some people to frown as it becomes apparent that the term greatness can also apply to heinous deeds involving mass loss of human lives.

To be very objective, greatness could simply be defined by its widespread impact and it seems consistency is a key element. Of course, many of these great deeds are not just the result of one person as there are usually many other unspoken figures in the background that support these great people. Imagine if this inspirational figure was not consistent in his or her direction or methods, then how would these supporters be able to follow the lead and build something great? In many of the examples above, those individuals also displayed other traits like determination and tenacity in carrying out their vision. However, the vision and message had to be firstly, consistent, in order for the determination and effort to be channelled upon. So it seems many people aspire to be great people but fail at the first step of being consistent. Many people are easily swayed and one moment, a certain fad seems to be a hot idea, they flock to it, then something else better comes along and they switch over. They don't seem to identify with anything consistent. Think about what others identify as a consistent quality about you. Maybe for some who are consistently bull-shitting about their great ideas, yes, you could regard them as great too - great liars!