Achieving Greatness

 Jonathan Livingston Seagull 

Once upon a time, I turned twenty-seven. On that day, my good friend Jodie came to me with genuine concern to ask how I was doing. Her 27th birthday had been difficult, so she wanted to check in with me. On her 27th, she had come to the miserable realization that she would never achieve greatness. She would never do anything noteworthy. She’d never be the first female President, or write an award-winning book, or solve one of the world’s challenging problems. On that birthday, she had accepted that she was average - common. My 27th birthday was fine, except I felt sad for my friend. 

For several years, as my birthday approached, I remembered that story and wondered if I was facing my year of crisis. I wondered if I was reaching the year that I too would begin to believe I would never achieve greatness. For me, that birthday has not yet arrived. However, I have begun to recognize that greatness comes in many forms and may not be something others value or applaud, but that isn’t important. The only thing that really matters is that we follow our hearts.

In Richard Bach’s story, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Jonathan, like Jodie, confronted the fact that he was a common seagull. With pressure to be normal, he almost gave up his dream to achieve flying perfection. He almost quit challenging himself to learn to fly better - to fly at high speeds - to fly at low speeds - to fly with dazzling aerobatics. But he didn’t quit. He didn’t accept that he was an average seagull destined to limit his gift of flight to scavenging for food. Jonathan loved flying and dedicated himself to continual improvement of what he loved - and in doing so he achieved flying greatness.

My friend Jodie may not have achieved a form of greatness that was publicly recognized and rewarded, but she did have greatness. She was uncommonly kind and generous and joyful, and she had the most wonderful sense of humor. When something struck Jodie as funny (and many things did) she threw her head back and erupted in a full-blown belly laugh. And her laugh was contagious. When Jodie laughed, anyone within earshot laughed, giggled, or at least grinned and felt a moment of joy. Isn’t spreading humor and lifting the spirits of others just as great as any recognized form of “achieved greatness”?

When I consider the lesson of Jodie and Jonathan, I think about two bits of wisdom I’ve been given in my life. The first is advice I received early in my career. 

And the second came a little later in life, after taking what I did so seriously that I was left with little space for me and was brought to the edge of complete exhaustion. 

For me, the truth sits at the intersection of these ideas. What I do is important, and I want to do it well. But, it’s equally important that I do what I love - that thing which comes from my true self - that thing which I refuse to allow anything to stand in the way of as I continually challenge myself to do better.  

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Solana Beach Seagull, photo by Kelly Anderson