The power of the individual

It periodically strikes me how much an individual can achieve. The power of one. They say the Pareto Principle applies equally well to humans. 20% humans do 80% of the work that needs to be done. What this essentially means is that there are certain driven individuals who move the human race forward. They are the ones who carry on their shoulders the burden of the laggards, the second-raters and parasites who feed on the achievements and contributions of those who achieve the tangibles.

Milton was of the opinion that they also serve who only stand and wait. If nothing, the non-performers only increase economic consumption in cases where they are rewarded for gross incompetence which is either unrecognized or intentionally ignored. The fact remains that it is the individual that drives the community, the nation and the globe. These are the giants that tower above the rest and achieve much more in a matter of days than some people would in their lifetimes.

Such is the power of the individual, the monstrosity of human capability. If the inspired individual sets his sights on the goal and unflinchingly advances towards the consummation of his efforts, the world must move aside as for a man whose time has come. You see such people all the time. They are islands of excellence in their respective fields. The ones that stand out as near-perfect. The invincible Sultans of their trades, the ones who never say die and maintain a constancy of purpose that may get scary for the average underachiever.

As individuals we are all answerable to ourselves. No self-respecting human would err to believe that he can live his life vicariously through the praise and deification received from another. If he does, he lives in the proverbial fool's paradise and must needs be jolted out of a dangerous and rancid inertia.

They say we do not utilize more than 10% of the capacity of the human brain. Great ones are the few and far between souls who strive to constantly utilize the complex entity that the mind is. The ones that do, the ones that attempt to remain truthful to themselves in effort and thought are the ones who reach the pinnacles of our world. It's lonely up there, but company would mar that special feeling anyway.