What Makes You Great

If you want great things you have to do great things. But what defines great? When we think about greatness:

• Who defines great?
• Is everyone great?
• Do you feel great right now?
• What would make you feel great today?

Honestly, I ordered up some cookies online this week and they haven’t arrived yet. I think a cookie might make me feel great. But it would temporary, and only because I’m hungry.

I believe there is something great about every person. You have skills, abilities, and gifts that nobody else has.

Since it’s Easter Weekend, consider which of a few of these fruits of the spirit you may be great at:

• Your joy
• Your peace
• Your kindness
• Your goodness

Or how about what special skills:

• Your hobby skills
• Your area of work
• Your dance moves

And what your gifted at:

• Your ability to teach
• Your knowledge
• Your generosity
• Your ability to serve (one of mine, which I call being a worker bee)
• Your leadership (one of my wife’s, who is a Queen bee)

My 5-year old boy has great empathy. It’s easy for me to recognize as I’ve been fighting bronchitis this week. Several times he has told me ‘I hope you feel better Daddy.’

My daughter on the other hand, was great at helping me put stickers on the honey jars we are selling. And she didn’t complain! I was shocked. But she has no empathy for me being sick.

In our world of social media and constant comparisons, it’s hard not to compare our accomplishments, our stuff, our everything, against everyone else’s. When you start seeing your own greatness and stop comparing, it changes everything.

Did you ever wonder why people run 10ks, half-marathons, and marathons? Have you run a race? Why? You weren’t going to win, right?

But everyone gets a medal for finishing. And a t-shirt, a banana, and a bottle of water. Sometimes a granola bar if you finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. Finish in the back and they’ve all been eaten by the time you cross the finish line and all you get is an apple (I know this from experience).

Everyone gets a medal, because everyone did a great job. They trained, they prepared, and they finished.

But there is only one winner. They are usually from Kenya. And by the time we cross the finish line, they have gone home, showered, taken an hour long nap, and could have knitted a pair of mittens.

So you have to enjoy your own greatness, and

• not compare a six-hour marathon time to a 2-hour marathon time.
• not compare your career and income to someone else’s career and income.
• not compare where you or your kids went to school to someone else’s Ivy League education

When you recognize what you are great at, give that to people. Today, tomorrow, the next day.

I’m blessed to be able to do what I do, and guide so many people in their financial lives. But I started with zero listeners, zero followers, zero questions.  What I did know was there were other people who were great teachers I could model for success.

At my first podcasting conference I ran into Philip Taylor, who runs FinCon. It’s a giant money nerd conference. At the time I barely had a website. I had only done about ten episodes of The Scott Alan Turner Show. Philip had been watching my daily Periscope videos and invited me to speak at FinCon. That blew me away. Philip is now a good friend. He helps build the personal finance community by seeing what’s great in others, and helping to promote them.

It’s an example of someone being able to see in others what they cannot see in themselves.

Like I see the great empathy in my son. Even though he has no idea what the word even means.

You know you already have greatness. And you can build more too.

You can be great just doing little things day after day after day.

After day.

I know so many great moms. But I have yet to meet a single one that went to mom school, graduated with a mom degree, or went on to write a dissertation and got a PhD in Mommy hood.

But moms certainly deserve one. Having kids is like ‘what the heck do I do with this thing?’ when they get home.

They figure it out. Read. Ask. Screw up. Go from ‘what the heck’ to eventually teaching other new moms to be great moms.

You see, nobody starts great at anything. But you have your greatness now. And if you don’t believe that then you need to ask someone what’s great about you.

You can go one better by telling someone what is great about them, because they can’t see it. You can. And you will absolutely blow them away. It will make your day too.

Have you made it this far? Awesome, and great job! See, we may have never met but we’ve just proven there is great in you. Because many people don’t open the email, don’t click the link, don’t read until the end. Too many people spend too much time looking for the next thing, and missing the great in front of them. No, I’m not talking about this amazing article I’ve written (ha!). I’m talking about what you have that’s great about you right now. You committed the past five minutes to add to your knowledge, by learning a tip you can use to inspire others.

Little things, day after day, building on what you already have.

Someone in your life needs a kind word today so they know they are great. Please go do that.

They also need cookie, so if you can do that too, you’ll score a double.

Like this? Please share it with your friends so that your loved ones can feel great today too. – Scott