Repetition = Greatness???

Greatness = Repetition?

So... the first thing to say about being great is that there are a lot of different iterations of this word.

Observation #1: There can be no true achievement of GREATNESS without REPETITION.

We have all heard the saying that "Every dog has his day" or "Every squirrel finds an acorn". There have been comical stories aplenty about the guy who got up to bat in the Major Leagues one time, and got a hit... his lifetime career average is 1.000! Clearly, that does not compare to the true greats who manage .333 and send our nostalgic fathers into tears at the mention of their names. (My dad loves Mickey Mantle... and can't talk about him very much without really being in awe of just how great he was... and he does actually choke up sometimes!)

So my thoughts on Repetition: It is the most difficult thing anyone will ever do.

In the books of sacred writ... "Enduring to the End" is the part that seams toughest. I have my heroes when it comes to repetition... Amanda; Mike, Barb, & Jimmy; Trent; My Dad; My Father-In-Law.

My wife speaks in such admiration of her Dad when she recounts that almost every morning she can remember growing up, he was awake before her, and studying the scriptures. The same can be said of some of my best friends... and my Mom.

So far, I have been more of the "VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE" kind of guy. I put my car keys in a different spot every day when I come home - and change my clothes in a different room in the house - and without even thinking about it.

So a few weeks ago a man I respect tremendously made a comment about the Book: THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON" by George S. Clayton. My respect for Bryce is such that him mentioning the book made me go buy it. I will talk about it for the rest of my life, because it is a great book.

In that book, Arkad is the Richest Man in Babylon. Some of his friends question him on how he achieved it... and one commented that he simply had "strong will power". Humor me, and allow me to quote a paragraph from the book:

"Willpower!" retorted Arkad. "What nonsense. Do you think willpower gives man the strength to lift a burden the camel cannot carry, or to draw a load the oxen cannot budge? Will power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfillment. If I set for myself a task, be it ever so trifling, I shall see it through. How else shall I have confidence in myself to do important things? Should I say to myself, 'For a hundred days as I walk across the bridge into the city, I will pick from the road a pebble and cast it into the stream,' I would do it. If on the seventh day I passed by without remembering, I would not say to myself, 'tomorrow I will cast two pebbles which will do as well.' Instead, I would retrace my steps and cast the pebble. Nor on the twentieth day would I say to myself, 'Arkad, this is useless. What does it avail you to cast a pebble every day? Throw in a handful and be done with it.' No, i would not say that nor do it. When I set a task for myself, I complete it. Therefor, I am careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks, because I love leisure."

This paragraph inspired me with insight about greatness... in fact much of the inspiration to do this blog came from reading the book, and discussions with my friend Bryan.

So... time will tell. Do I have the fortitude Arkad speaks of to complete a task, once set for myself?

My goal is to post on this blog regularly... several times per week, and report on my progress.

Hopefully in the coming weeks the stage will be set for me to do more specific reporting about what is happening, not just the psudo-inspirational B.S. that I come up with to get the Blog going.

We shall see...