The world over the years have seen someone attain excellence and retain and improve upon the excellence over the years. These individuals can’t even be called overachievers. They are driven by a goal of becoming the best in the business.
In the ancient world, there were kings, and the more powerful bigger kings were called the Emperors. Effectively, an emperor was first a king first but all the more. Some would ask why this comparison. In most cases, a generation separates an emperor from the king and these battles/comparisons are media infused. They continuously look for what next or who next to take over the mantle and be the heir apparent?
Am I hear to discuss ancient civilizations? Not really. My analogy works especially for two professions which are the close to me – entertainment and sports. In my article, I am discussing the emperor and the king who wants to be the emperor but either the emperor continues to improve the margin, or the king is somehow faltering at a hurdle. Let me talk through few examples which are near and dear to mine and more so, my audience.
Case in point, my emperor category dataset includes Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan. Obviously, the corresponding kings I am talking about are Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, Lionel Messi, Lebron James. Surprisingly, some of these guys have actually even called themselves Kings – King Khan, King James, King Kohli. None of the emperors had to call themselves that.
What makes the emperors different from the kings or the incumbent from the challengers? Obviously, talent wise they are highly comparable. What differs is the intangibles – drive to succeed, killer instinct, ability to influence people, longevity over a period, ability to influence, quality of competition and motivate a generation (kings included). If you just compare the emperor and the king datasets I mentioned above, you will clearly see difference is in intangibles.
One might argue that these emperors also had their predecessors, and the answer is definitely yes. However, these very emperors who were the kings bettered their predecessors and claimed the title for themselves. The very kings we are discussing are the ones who have tried multiple times but somehow have fallen short or have stopped in their strides.
Challengers even took on the projects 2.0 to show they could do better. Shah Rukh did a Don and Lebron is doing Space Jam but there’s a reason original is special and was on the critical path of success of the former.
Shah Rukh Khan did everything to “declare” himself as good as Amitabh but he continued to fall short as the latter continues to reinvent and make himself even better. Likewise for another king, Lebron James, who clearly misses the killer instinct of MJ, has tried everything in his book to have the world sing his eons but to his dismay, the purists continue to put him a pedestal below. The reason – Lebron hasn’t won as much or rather strongly put, lost more when it mattered.
Virat Kohli has improved upon Sachin’s milestones but then again, experts will always have the argument that the quality of opposition Sachin faced was notches higher than what Virat ever played.
The biggest argument I make and believe what makes the emperors different from the kings is ability to influence people and more so, motivate the generations after and elevate the field that they have mastered. They have inspired the next generations (kings included) and taken their profession popularity to the unseen heights. Could today’s kings go on to become emperors of tomorrow? Obviously, it is possible but till the intangibles are fixed, it is a far-fetched goal.
Does this mean emperors are better than kings in every regard? No way. Shah Rukh, Lebron and Virat have been better than the ones they have been idolizing in certain areas. Shah Rukh has been a better producer/businessman, Lebron has won at more locations and can form super teams, Virat has beaten Sachin in white ball cricket and even at the endorsement game.
To mention the last pair from the dataset, while there are no direct comparisons and soccer is a different sport, Messi with all his greatness can never be Diego and Messi might be the first one to admit. As great Messi is, Diego was a magician.
Each of these kings have approached their battles differently, some of them consciously and others unintentionally. They could have been happier if they didn’t get sucked into this media game. They could have carved out their legacy better. People can enjoy greatness and one shouldn’t try to be the next someone rather be the first themselves.
