The story behind greatness is rarely as glamorous as the one we assign. A painting that stops people in their tracks, a piece of music that survives centuries after it was written or technological breakthrough that changes the daily life of millions is not always accompanied by a tale of charm or fascination.

Many times the works that we consider great were created by someone who viewed as a little bit – sometimes a lot – crazy at the time. But is it necessary to be eccentric to reach into a person and touch their soul?

We all want to be the person who makes it into the textbook. We want to be the painter whose work sells for millions years after he is dead. Or the composer whose work is still performed in concert halls – centuries later.

But we aren’t.

Most of us will end up getting married and trying not to screw that up. Then we will have kids and try not to screw them up. Then we will get older and have a mid-life crisis when we look back at our accomplishments and wonder if we screwed our lives up.

To be great, a person has to be a little bit crazy. They have to have a cause they believe in deeply enough that they are engulfed in the work and able to push through the naysayers. They ignore the funny looks, the galleries rejecting their work, the patrons walking out on their performances, and dedicate their life to something they believe needs to be done.

The people who achieve greatness – change the world – are the ones who won’t allow anything less of themselves and put everything on the line to achieve it.

What I don’t know is what drives them. Is it because they are crazy? Because they somehow know that their work will someday make a difference? Or because something within them – good or bad – won’t allow them to stop?