Two and a Half Men is a purely humorous TV show. However, last week I heard a line where Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) asks: “Do you want to work for Google, or do you want to be Google? meaning “Do you want to work for the best or do you want to be the best?" This got me thinking. Who gets to be the best? Those people or companies, like Google, who are the best at what they do, aren’t in that position for no reason. They have worked hard to be where they are, and even though maybe some luck may have come into play, the reason they are where they are is because of their persistence and hard work.
Many people say that they want to be the best, but the actually don’t. If someone wants to be the best at something, then all of their decisions and actions have to be made based on that goal. When Larry Page wanted Google to be the top search engine in the world, he never stopped making it better, and looking for ways to improve, and even when he did get to make Google the top search engine, he still kept working hard to improve it and maintain that prominent status that he had achieved with his team through years of hard work.
Last year, my brother really developed a passion for soccer. One day we were having lunch with my uncle, and he asked my brother: “Do you want to be the best soccer player ever?” My brother obviously answered that he did, but my uncle’s response got me thinking; “No you don’t, because if you really wanted to become the best you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, you would be outside, playing soccer, practicing and improving your skills.” This got me thinking, even though I am still in an age where it is common not to know exactly what you want to follow as a career, and not to have very serious passions, it still hit me that I didn’t have something that I would work all day to become the best at. Would that come naturally, or would I have to go and look for it? Is something becoming a passion the first step for you to become the best at it?
Being the best is title with many different scales. Some people may say they’re the best at small things like baking the best chocolate chip cookies, just to make themselves feel better. Others may be recognized by their peers at being the best at, for example, dancing out of their group of friends. And others may be recognized worldwide for being the best at something, like winning the Ballon D’Or as a soccer player, or winning the Oscar as an actor. Finally, however, I believe there is another scale of being the best, and it is where all of us fit in. It is when you are the best at something, but aren’t recognized for it, because you either are too shy to demonstrate to others how good you are, or because from other people’s points of view you aren’t the best, but inside you feel that you are. Maybe these things people are the best at are even smaller accomplishments than baking the best chocolate chip cookies, or even greater accomplishments than winning an Oscar. Maybe someone has the best handwriting, or is the best at math. To be the best you also don’t have to be the best in the world, you can be the best in your family, your group of friends, your neighbourhood, or even your school, others are recognized as the best in the whole world, but those are very few. Last, in a technically smaller scale, but emotionally the largest of all, one can be the best version they can of themselves, and I have found that to be the most rewarding.
Many people say that they want to be the best, but the actually don’t. If someone wants to be the best at something, then all of their decisions and actions have to be made based on that goal. When Larry Page wanted Google to be the top search engine in the world, he never stopped making it better, and looking for ways to improve, and even when he did get to make Google the top search engine, he still kept working hard to improve it and maintain that prominent status that he had achieved with his team through years of hard work.
Last year, my brother really developed a passion for soccer. One day we were having lunch with my uncle, and he asked my brother: “Do you want to be the best soccer player ever?” My brother obviously answered that he did, but my uncle’s response got me thinking; “No you don’t, because if you really wanted to become the best you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, you would be outside, playing soccer, practicing and improving your skills.” This got me thinking, even though I am still in an age where it is common not to know exactly what you want to follow as a career, and not to have very serious passions, it still hit me that I didn’t have something that I would work all day to become the best at. Would that come naturally, or would I have to go and look for it? Is something becoming a passion the first step for you to become the best at it?
Being the best is title with many different scales. Some people may say they’re the best at small things like baking the best chocolate chip cookies, just to make themselves feel better. Others may be recognized by their peers at being the best at, for example, dancing out of their group of friends. And others may be recognized worldwide for being the best at something, like winning the Ballon D’Or as a soccer player, or winning the Oscar as an actor. Finally, however, I believe there is another scale of being the best, and it is where all of us fit in. It is when you are the best at something, but aren’t recognized for it, because you either are too shy to demonstrate to others how good you are, or because from other people’s points of view you aren’t the best, but inside you feel that you are. Maybe these things people are the best at are even smaller accomplishments than baking the best chocolate chip cookies, or even greater accomplishments than winning an Oscar. Maybe someone has the best handwriting, or is the best at math. To be the best you also don’t have to be the best in the world, you can be the best in your family, your group of friends, your neighbourhood, or even your school, others are recognized as the best in the whole world, but those are very few. Last, in a technically smaller scale, but emotionally the largest of all, one can be the best version they can of themselves, and I have found that to be the most rewarding.