Five Criteria for Greatness

This is not my list, but paraphrased from someone else’s blog post. She had read about James Dewey Watson, who discovered the structure of DNA with Francis Crick. Ruby's original post appeared on Zen Habits and is well worth a read: Why Discovering Your Obsession Can Lead to Your Greatness.

The list apparently came from a speech Watson made on why he deserved to discover the structure of DNA.

1. Go for broke - if you are going to do something important, do it.
2. Have a way to get the answer – if you haven’t a clue, you’re going to waste time.
3. Be obsessive – think about it night and day.
4. Be part of a team – have a partner to bounce ideas off and support you.
5. Talk to your opponents – share your ideas, cooperate and talk to others.
6. Never be the brightest person in the room; so you can always learn something.

I was so impressed with the list that I keep a copy in my notebook. I hope you get something useful from it too.