This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 1202 when the pursuit of greatness does more harm than good.

And forget yourself, both by Laurie D'Shan of tinybuda.com and a very own personal narrator,

Justin Mollick, reading to you from some amazing blogs and books to help you optimize your life.

Topics include personal development, productivity, and minimalism mostly.

Now let's get right to today's two posts as we optimize your life.

When the pursuit of greatness does more harm than good by Laurie D'Shan of tinybuda.com.

Quote, seek not greatness, but seek truth, and you will find both.

Horace, man.

You're destined for greatness. Don't settle for mediocrity. You can be extraordinary.

Have you ever heard one of these motivating statements? I see them all the time around the web,

and while I understand the intention, I sometimes have mixed feelings about the implication.

We all want to make a difference in the world. We all want to make some kind of impact,

both to contribute to mankind, and to feel that our lives mean something.

It's a great big world out there, and at times, it can feel like we don't matter unless we're

doing something huge. We might even be tempted to label our lives as unworthy if we're not doing

something that garners attention and admiration. This was the foundation of my early interest in

performing. It wasn't just that I loved expressing myself creatively, though I did.

I've always had a wellspring of emotion that craved some type of artistic outlet.

It was more that I needed that feeling of standing above a crowd that was fixated on me.

I desperately craved their approval and applause. There are confirmation that I was a valuable person

that I was someone with talent. Talent made me special. It made me stand out. When I held a microphone

or moved center stage, I felt good about me. But when the house lights came on at the end of the

...