Monuments to Ourselves

Are we chasing fame or greatness? When it comes to personal branding, focus on becoming, not being.

The Apotheosis of Homer by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1827

“I would much rather have men ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” — Cato the Elder, c. 184 BC

In the 1986 comedy Back To School, the oldest freshman, played by Rodney Dangerfield sat in English class, confident of his ability to pass the course because of his budding relationship with his professor.

The professor, Dr. Diane Turner, still expected mastery of the material when she called on him:

“Mr. Melon, how would you characterize The Great Gatsby?”

Clearly out of his element and caught unprepared, he replied:

“The Great Gatsby? He was…uh…great!”

This scene stays with me not only because I was an impressionable teen when I first saw it (and repeated it to myself not long thereafter when I read The Great Gatsby for the first time), but because it raises a number of questions: What is greatness? What is fame? How do they differ? And how does reputation factor into this?

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness…