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The Twenty Mile March. Every. Day.

What do you think…can we choose greatness? Or is it something thrust upon us by circumstances beyond our control? Do we even want to be great? What about being great in God’s Kingdom?

At this year’s Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit author Jim Collins (Good to Great) challenged me more than Condoleeza Rice, Bill Hybels or John Ortberg (which is saying a lot) with a message from his new book, Great by Choice.

What do you think…can we choose greatness? Or is it something thrust upon us by circumstances beyond our control? Do we even want to be great? What about being great in God’s Kingdom?

At this year’s Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit author Jim Collins (Good to Great) challenged me more than Condoleeza Rice, Bill Hybels or John Ortberg (which is saying a lot) with a message from his new book, Great by Choice.


I think we all long to be the best me we can be. To be “fully alive” in the sense that Irenaeus was thinking when he said, “The glory of God is many fully alive.”

Collins, who does not speak from a faith perspective, but from empirical research and case studies, concludes that greatness is a unique combination of humility and will, both of which can be chosen.

Focusing on the “will” aspect he illustrated his point with the story of the two explorers who raced to discover the South Pole. The Brit, Captain Robert Scott, set out with a much larger, more well provisioned team with the technological advantage of motorized ski sleds. Four hundred miles down the Antarctic coast Norwegian, Captain Roald Amundsen led his smaller team with dog sleds.

As it turned out, the high-tech sleds froze up in the -30 C temperatures. The dogs did not. But the greater advantage was Amundsen’s iron-willed commitment to cover 20 miles a day. Whether they were facing blizzard conditions that kept the Scott team hunkered down in their tents, or they were only 45 miles from the pole and his team was urging him to go for it and not risk being beaten by the Brits, Amundsen held steady to his 15-20 mile-a-day goal.

When the British finally arrived at the pole they found the flag planted by the Norwegians, some extra supplies and a letter Amundsen asked Scott to carry back to the King of Norway should they fail to return.

Sadly, it was Scott who failed to return. He and his team perished 11 miles from their supply depot, succumbing to exposure and starvation.

Collins made the point: “The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.” Basically, a failure of discipline. Over-extending when it’s good. Pulling back when it’s bad. What leads to greatness is “consistent, consecutive performance.” Every day…the twenty mile march. Every, every day. In a business. In a marriage. In a friendship. Great friends say, "I am always here for you. You are never really alone.

Things always happen that are beyond our control—we don’t choose them, they have big consequences, and they are a surprise. What many call “luck” does not automatically lead to greatness. Much more important is how we respond. We choose greatness when we choose to get a high return on life’s disruptions. Can we use them to deepen our purpose? Collins urges us, “It is the height of [our] responsibility not to squander [them].”

“Greatness,” he concludes, “is not a result of circumstance; it is a conscious result of choice.

I have never thought too much about “choosing greatness;” that sort of thing was not in my family’s vocabulary, my church’s vocabulary, my friends’ vocabulary. Jesus speaks of it but only to invite us to be first in service.

And I have often prayed that God would unleash and multiply the gifts he has given me for his kingdom–for his glory and my joy. What I long for is for Jesus to smile and say, “Well done. You took what I gave you and invested it wisely. You learned to be a servant of all.”

Yet I am so far from that. Too often inconsistent. My creative soul longs for options and flexibility. Twenty mile marches? I can do 30, even 40 miles a day on a deadline…but 20 every? Day?

Yet, I am coming to realize that in order to be the best steward of the gifts God has given me, I would do well to ask Jesus for his grace and power to step up my discipline—my consistent, consecutive choices to bring it—bring all of my heart, creativity and strength to “whatever my hand finds to do.” To be fully alive to God and others in the process. SDG

What is the greatest obstacle to your “consistent, consecutive” choices?

Lael writes and speaks about faith and culture and how God renews our vision and desire for Him and his Kingdom. She earned a master's degree (MAT) in the history of ideas from the University of Texas at Dallas, and has taught Western culture and apologetics at secular and Christian schools and colleges. Her long-term experience with rheumatoid arthritis and being a pastor’s wife has deepened her desire to minister to the whole person—mind, heart, soul and spirit. Lael has co-hosted a talk radio program, The Things That Matter Most, on secular stations in Houston and Dallas about what we believe and why we believe it with guests as diverse as Dr. Deepak Chopra, atheist Sam Harris and VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer. (Programs are archived on the website.) Lael has authored four books, including a March 2011 soft paper edition of A Faith and Culture Devotional (now titled Faith and Culture: A Guide to a Culture Shaped by Faith), Godsight, and Worldproofing Your Kids. Lael’s writing has also been featured in Focus on the Family and World magazines, and she has appeared on many national radio and television programs. Lael and her husband, Jack, now make their home in South Carolina.