On Xing I had an interesting discussion this weekend with Dr. Bruno Wüst about “Good is just not good enough”. He quoted Caesar: “Better in Rome the second than in any other town the first”. Dr. Wüst doesn’t see it as a contradiction to what I am claiming, but rather as an addition. (note: there is no written source for this quote, the closest match that I have found is the one of William Shakespeare’s “Caesar”: “I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome.”)

I personally think that if Caesar had to choose between the one or the other, he would opt for being number two in Rome (rather than being the first amongst barbarians), but his final goal has always been to become and stay the number one in Rome.

Being number two can only be a (temporary) milestone or result in your road to becoming number one. Napoleon Hill wrote in his “Think, Grow Rich” that setting your goal and visualizing it (as if you are already there) will get you there in the end.

So if you ask my opinion: if I had to make a choice between the one or the other I would walk in the footsteps of Caesar and go for being number 2 in a big market, but… I believe that nobody should make a choice, since you master your own fate. So I go for being number one in the big market.