Greatness has no t&c

Here's a statement that produces undulating opinions depending on where I am. It says "not everyone can be great".

I have always believed that good exists because there is evil. And by that very definition, great exists because there is "not great". When I walk through the market or any core slum of Nigeria (read: Oshodi, Oja-Oba) and I see the guys who live there, I ask myself two questions.

One, are these the guys I am actually designing for? Two, do these guys really want to blow and leave this place too?

Realistically, the poor will keep on getting poorer and the rich, richer. Yet, when I think about greatness and the sheer amount of grass-to-grace stories all over the internet, it gets me thinking, "what if all of us don't make it?"

Sorry, my thoughts are all over the place.

Let's come back to our bubble. "wagmi", better spelt in all small caps, is a statement that in itself sounds paradoxical. "We all gon' make it", but are we?

Fam, the odds are stacked against us.

The chance of one person making it is better than all of us making it. We all know that and the self-preserving module of our configuration kicks in—the comparison, the competition, the sizing-up. We always want to be ahead.

The fear of becoming irrelevant cripples us, so we tweet thought-leading shit like "the product design space is getting saturated" or we comment "this" on it.

"wagmi" but we consistently downplay the possibilities that he/she could actually be better than us. But it is "wagmi", isn't it?

Now, two things can be true.

While everyone may not make it, you and your people can. You can create the opportunities for greatness for other people.

Greatness has no terms and conditions.

Here's why I think this:

The world has no shortage of celebrities, yet somehow she makes room for more. She celebrates the dead, alive and unknown.

If you know and appreciate Ellen, Tyler Perry, Obama, Michael Jordan, C. Ronaldo, Jack Whitehall, Joe Rogan, Ariana Grande, Jay Z, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Omah Lay, Wizkid, Naira Marley, Fela Durotoye, David Oyedepo, The Serena Sisters, Jonas Brothers, Priyanka Chopra, and thousands more—then tell me why you think that Greatness has no room for you or anyone else for that matter.

Everyone can be great. You just have to know you can.

PS:

This is Sunday's letter. Love you.

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