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While it is a course of wisdom to study the contributions of others as well as their approaches used to attain success, competing for superiority within the status-quo can be a roadblock to progress and lead to personal discouragement.

Considering the world's greatest innovators and contributors reveals one interwoven thread. The were driven by unknown potential as opposed to accepted standards. They were INCOMPARABLE!

Can we envision Thomas Edison standing in a field amongst a crowd of eccentric turnkeys in the summer of 1752, all vying to be the first scientist struck by lightening? Did William Shakespeare have competitive publishing deadlines? When American transportation genius Henry Ford created the assembly line was he trying to get the drop an a non-existent Japanese auto firm? And who do we suppose was #2 on the best-selling list when Johannes Gutenberg released the Bible in 1455? We could go on ...

The spirit of competition itself requires there to be winners and losers. If one prevails within a peer group it would seem to be a a good outcome. Yet, what about the also-rans reduced to but moral victories? Would they not have made a bigger dent striking their blows on softer iron? Imagine evaluating one's existence based on capturing a high-tech market share from Bill Gates and his Microsoft monopoly.

In order for mankind to progress our young ones need to avoid being boxed in by the comparison of individual accomplishment with publicly defined parameters. Copycats face the possibility of living in delusional hope while dying in oblivion. Each personage on earth has at least one gift they can contribute to others who will follow. Finding what great or small aptitude each of us can develop into an improvement over any current benchmarks in civilization amounts to real opponent.

Not everyone has the inclination to accept the possible social consequences of making one's own wake in the sea of mankind. To those, we assign the designation "benefactors" of those who venture beyond traditional concepts and expectations. We can not all be President of the United States or cure cancer yet we appreciate the efforts of those who extend the quality of life.

Many years ago my wise Grandfather admonished me in words I did not at the time understand: "Son, you don't have to be #1 ... but you do need to have a number." Now I get it!

Learn more about this author, Swan Herbert.
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