Lightning Strikes of Greatness

I get to meet a lot of people for my work, and as in any activity that involves volume, it is easy to get lulled into a doze.

Everything repetitive becomes routine, and even a great routine induces some complacency.

Once in a while however, something special happens and I encounter someone who reminds me of how great people are allowed to be.

And every time it feels like an awakening.

These rare individuals are so incredible that they stand out not by 2 or 3x but by several orders of magnitude.

And this happens very rarely indeed.

Yesterday, I was jumping from one interaction to another all day and finally ended up on a call with someone during which I was compelled to open my notebook and write down:

“Wow, great people are so insanely great.”

We were going through a list of things to cover, and in every case I felt like this person’s approach was more thought-out, all-encompassing, courageous, and imaginative than what I had come up with.

This happens to be someone I know very well and have been working with for a long time, but our interaction still stood out by a mile that day.

Thankfully, once in a while we also meet new people who hit like lightning strikes.

I feel the same way about friends, which I guess isn’t surprising given that I work with a lot of my friends. And / or that a lot of people I work with become friends through a common battle and inspiring objective.

The people I am close with I have now been close with for a while, but a few times per year I get lucky and meet someone who quickly feels like a kindred spirit… you know that feeling of having known someone for a very long time even though you’ve just met.

And as soon as I get to know them the bond starts rapidly compounding. Over time, the roots grow deeper into the ground, and that person becomes family.

The occasional lightning strike you experience when you meet someone great should be a reminder to never, ever settle.

(Which is not the same as never being content or happy with what you have.)

The world is an abundant place, and my belief is that there are very compatible pairings for everyone.

Greatness often is objective but sometimes depends on how people are wired, what they like to do every day, what they want out of life, and I do think that everyone can find their own version of great in the world.

You know what great feels like to you.

And so you should keep wandering in search of it until you are sure you have found it.

If you are wondering whether you have, you should keep moving along, deeper into the woods.

Because when you do eventually come across it, you will know.

Just like you know when you’ve jumped into a frozen lake.