What makes us great?

People say Mr. X was great. People talk about the greatness of people like Einstein for ages. But what makes someone great? What is that parameter, the accumulation of which qualifies one to be called great and remembered for years? Is it wealth? Is it success? or is it the ability to cook maggie in 2 mins? I will try to put my thoughts on this.

If we make a list of people who are generally considered great say, Newton, Einstein, Tesla, Dirac (I am a science fan so deal with it, just kidding), Elon Musk, Edison, Gandhi, Mandela, Hitler (Yes you heard it right)...and the list goes on. One thing that is common in everyone is the number of lives they affected, or if you are a little poetic then the number of lives they touched, be it in a good way or bad way, was massive. Gandhi affected the lives of all the people in India.

The light bulb invented by Edison is still giving jobs to thousands of workers, light to millions of students, and content to a few like me. Hitler even though in a bad way caused pain to millions of Jews. Everyone did touch the lives of many people. And that makes them great.

As humans, we are very weak and limited creatures individually. It is only the imagination that makes us limitless. Given how limited we are in space (bound by our skin), and time (hardly 100years), it is important to do things that go beyond our limits. And that is possible only if our work affects the lives of many, for then only the legacy will continue for generations. Now, what way you want to affect the lives of others is obviously your choice.

So perhaps it's time to buckle up and be Mr. X.