On Greatness

On Greatness I get a ton* of emails from both applicants, newly accepted frosh (and occasionally even current students) saying basically the same thing: MIT is full of amazing people, I dont think Im all that amazing, how can I fit in? Its a question thats been on the forefront of my mind lately, and its got me thinking about incredible people and what it is in them that makes them incredible. And the surprising conclusion Ive come to is: No one has become great by wanting to be great, greatness is a natural by-product of following your passion. The people who are most remarkable dont do it for any reason beyond that its what they love to do, a deep intrinsic call to follow their dreams regardless of whether or not people say its a good idea, or whether or not it has any practicality. The important thing is to find what you love and do it to the utmost of your ability. Live and breathe it, take it in deep into your person and be the best you can be at it. Why? Because if you do this, greatness in some sense will naturally follow. Some of you will take in math and science and become great engineers, great entrepreneurs. Or some of you will become great parents, great husbands, mothers, mechanics, etc. if you find what it is you love to do and funnel your energy into relentless pursuit. So for those of you in high school, wide-eyed and unsure of how to get the most out of your life, theres a simple pseudo-algorithm for you: if passion == known: pursue it else: try new things And thats it. If you know what you love, do it non-stop. If you dont, try new things until you find it. Youd be surprised at the number of people whove told me stories about starting college with an idea of what they want to do, taking a new class and being sent off on an entirely new trajectory because they loved it so much. So thats what I think in a nutshell: try new things until you find something you love, and then do it as much as you can. If you do, youll be great in some sense, or at the very least happy.