That is magnificence.
Charity: Water is magnificent.
So is Hideaki Akaiwa (and every other Badass of the Week).
My dad participating last week in the attempt to break the world record for Largest Ukelele ensemble was magnificent. (Yay Dad!)
You better believe the World Beard and Mustache Championships are magnificent.
The is magnificent.
Cicero’s Phillipics were a magnificent work.
For people who ask me why I love wrestling, it’s because it’s often magnificent:
My first try at baking New Zealand’s Ultimate Chocolate Recipe was a magnificent task. (They’re really good.)
Great customer service is magnificent, of course.
Doctor Barry Marshall, who drank a beaker of bacteria in order to prove that they caused stomach ulcers, is a magnificent scientist.
Oh, and about three hundred people in this collection:
(Special props to the three-year-old girl on the BMX.)
So what is magnificence?
Magnificence is the overcoming of challenges.
A toddler successfully doing up their shoelaces for the first time is magnificent. They know it. We know it.
Of course, that challenge stops being challenging after a pretty short time.
In order to continue doing magnificent work, we need to keep stretching, trying to push into new areas, refining, growing.
And that is why it doesn’t really matter what task you’re doing…
If you are a human being engaged in a process of continual growth and striving, you make the world better by your existence.
That could be expressed through your work, or through your parenting, or by baking the perfect tray of chocolate brownies. As long as you can continue to overcome challenges, then whatever you’re doing has the capacity to be magnificent.
(And yes, it’s morally neutral: the result might be so monstruous that you are overall reducing the awesomeness in the world. But the act of doing is still magnificent.)
Why am I talking about this on a business website?
Each of us have tasks and aptitudes where our capacity to stretch is almost limitless.
They are our best work.
When you choose to focus all your attention into those places, you create a situation where you never run out of new possibilities to explore, new techniques to master, new challenges to overcome.
Two things happen:
- You constantly improve, and so your reputation (and profit) grows.
- You enjoy every single day of your work.
Is that cash and joy I spy? Why yes, it is.
This is why magnificence is the shortest path I know to profit and pleasure.
This is why magnificence matters to your business.
Come share your favourite example of magnificence in the comments. And then… go overcome a challenge of your own.
Oh, and don’t forget: the spiffy Giving for Greatness guide is only available for one month. If you want to learn how to use generosity in your business, you should go get it now!
