Every person on Earth is tied for the The Greatest and The Worst individual. As I explained in Look at People, Never Up or Down, a key realization is that “you’re no better than anyone else, but no one’s better than you.” Though a simple idea on the surface, it is a deep idea to live. First, one must understand that humanity’s energies mirror each individual’s energies and appear positive or negative depending on the coin side flipped up.
Maya Angelou (1:20) – “I’d like everybody to think of a statement by Terence. The statement is, ‘I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.’ If you can internalize at least a portion of that, you will never be able to say of an act, a criminal act, ‘Oh. I couldn’t do that.’ No matter how heinous the crime, if a human being did it, you have to say, ‘I have in me all the components that are in her or in him. I intend to use my energies constructively, as opposed to destructively.’ If you can do that about the negative, just think what you can do about the positive. If a human being dreams a great dream, dares to love somebody, if a human being dares to be Martin King, or Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Malcom X – if a human being dares to be bigger than the condition into which she or he was born, it means so can you. And so you can try to stretch, stretch, stretch yourself. So you can internalize, ‘Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.’ I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me.’ That’s one thing I’m learning.”
All coin sides of humanity should be looked at from a level vantage point. This conflicts with many people’s mentalities, which utilize a bunch of holes and pedestals: The people who do bad stuff are put in holes and looked down upon, while the people who do good stuff are put on pedestals and looked up to. But looking down on someone for murder is the same foolish mentality as looking up to someone for saving lives. It is foolish because by putting people on levels, people unconsciously level themselves up too. Do or experience something negative – you feel like you’re in a hole. Do or experience something positive – you feel like you’re on a pedestal. It’s all an illusion; there are no holes or pedestals for those that look at people eye-to-eye and understand that The Greatest and The Worst aspects of humanity are within everyone. Dismissing the negative side of humanity only leads to people unconsciously dismissing the positive side of humanity, and not stretching themselves to greatness as a result. The key is recognizing that all energies are brewed within and to activate positive energy by choosing to flip your coin accordingly.
Muhammad Ali – “I must be the greatest!”
Muhammad Ali flipped his coin accordingly and exemplified the looking at people mentality. He took a backseat to nobody, and let nobody look down on him. While at the same time – though being on a very high perceived pedestal – he did not look down on people perceived to be in holes. Ali once explained his mentality that he was “gonna’ fight not for [him], but to uplift [his] little brothers who are sleeping on the concrete floors today in America” (1:26). He understood boxing’s relative insignificance when compared to the broader issues humanity was facing. It is no coincidence that perhaps the most prideful athlete of all-time was also perhaps the greatest humanitarian athlete. Because the mentality discussed here directly leads to both titles. His recognition of his greatness propelled him towards that and gave him his confident aura, while his understanding of each person’s worth led to his service-oriented attitude. Ali had that rare humble pride discovered by few.
Muhammad Ali – “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
The most challenging aspect of the main idea in this post is not looking down on people. Because there can be no conditions; one can’t say, “I’ll only look down on people who do XYZ, not anyone else.” It must be understood that no matter what the person did, (s)he is human. Therefore, (s)he is also The Greatest and The Worst person on Earth. There are stages to developing the mentality to look down on no-one; the first step is to recognize the humanity in people going through adversity such as homelessness.
Ronald Davis – “I’ve been on the streets for about a year and a half now … I’m not a bum, I’m a human being … No matter what people think about me, I know I’m a human first.”
Most people complete the first step of appreciating individuals who are struggling. A deeper stage is recognizing the humanity in racists, murderers, etc. and being understanding to them. Maya Angelou once stated, “What I pray for is humility, to know that there is something greater than I. That I have to know that the brute, the bigot, and the batterer are all children of God – whether they know it or not, and I’m supposed to treat them accordingly” (0:46). Ask yourself truly, what good comes from putting these individuals in holes inside your mind? Now outside your mind is different – you can lock people in prison for life, not associate with certain people, etc. But looking down on any individual inside your mind leads to the reverse mentality of inferiority toward certain individuals, which limits people. You don’t feel like you’re The Greatest person on Earth & you surely aren’t living it. It may sound paradoxical, but living up to one’s worth starts with recognizing the worth in others. So recognize humanity in all people; don’t be stuck up to perceived people below you and don’t be stuck below perceived people above you. Understand that you are the Most Valuable Person on Earth. And then live that.