Just Write Communications
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Clients
  • Testimonials
  • Writing Tips
  • Weekly Chuckle
  • Meals We Steal
  • Bad Golf

Staying Fresh AND Relevant: The Sign of Greatness

4/23/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
​Lebron James keeps moving on in the NBA playoffs. Someday he won’t. But right now he keeps upping his game, getting the job done in all phases, and his Cleveland Cavaliers team rallies behind him in their collective pursuit of greatness. 
 
He came into the league right out of high school. He was a phenom, but you couldn’t classify him as “great” yet. Those early years he proved a lot and honed his skills. He got better. The Cavs went to the championship. They didn’t win the trophy. 
 
Moving to the Miami Heat, he got his first championship rings and then he returned home to raise the city of Cleveland to new sports heights, going to the championship in 2015 where they lost in the finals, then winning it in 2016. 
 
Somehow, James keeps getting better.  How does he do it? 
 
If you’ve watched him, you know he has a body that is almost beyond belief, muscled out, tall, built like he could take anybody out on the football field, fast, and he has the ability to sky. Seemingly, he does it all. But that still doesn’t make him great. 
 
The sign of greatness is staying fresh and relevant. You don’t just win the big one once.  You keep heading back. You find new ways to develop and refine what you do.
 
 
You see this in writers, movie producers and successful CEO’s. The term “reinvent yourself” is a cliché, but to stay on top of your “A” game year after year requires reinvention.
 
 
This year, I read something about 
Lebron and his off-season workouts. He is 6’8” and played last year at 270 lbs. This year, he is reported to be down to 250 lbs, perhaps a bit more. He is faster, quicker (two different things) and able to accomplish more acrobatic moves on the court because of it. He is greater than last year. 
 
He stayed fresh and relevant. He knew if he wanted the Cavs to get back to the 
championship this year, he had to refine his game somehow. He prepared himself and acted. The results show. 
 
Think about Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Nolan Ryan. What did they do in their respective sports?  Over the years, they stayed fresh and relevant. Hence, greatness. 
 
The sign of long-term greatness in almost any creative endeavor means hitting new criteria and improving. Woody Allen, Stephen King, The Beatles, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Ted Williams. There’s a list for you. 
 
How about Steve Martin, David Bowie, Steven Spielberg, The Rolling Stones? Do they ring your bell? 
 
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele started their comedy show “Key and Peele” back in 2012. They are tremendously talented and the show was off-the-charts funny, charting new ground on race-based humor. I couldn’t get enough of it. 
 
The next year they were decent. The following year I 
stopped watching. Not funny anymore. I hated to turn them off, but their stuff was repetitive, boring and not worth watching to me. 
 
Now, Peele recently came out with a spoof horror movie, “Get Out,” which in an offbeat way introduces
 some fresh and relevant thematic material. I loved it. It was a different movie, and kept me engaged the full length.  
 
I don’t know if you could call it a “great” movie, but it was very good. If he can keep it up, maintain fresh and relevant material for years, he will ascend the ladder of comedic movie greatness. Like so many other things, time will tell. 
 
Keep it fresh. Stay on top of things. Be relevant. Pull that off in your field, and you get the “Greatness” mantle.

2 Comments
steve strehlow
4/26/2017 05:42:18 am

Great article, enjoy reading your blog:)

Reply
Dave Simon link
4/26/2017 07:30:56 am

Thanks, Steve, good to know you keep checking them out. It's always good to hear from readers. Are you guys heading up to Wisconsin this summer?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All

Proudly powered by Weebly