Focus your quest. In this day and age, the quest for greatness in one area has taken a backseat to the concept of universal genius, or the ability to accomplish greatness in many areas. While a nice notion, this quest for universal genius is one that is destined to fail. The reason is simple: no one can be the best at everything. Even in areas that are related, it's often impossible to find an equally great level of success (see: Michael Jordan's MLB career). So the road to success for some can be this simple: focus your quest on one big goal, and remember that a jack-of-all-trades is usually a master of none.Limit your options. "Keep your options open" almost seems to be our country's motto; I wouldn't be surprised if it's someday etched on the national currency. Our affinity for keeping options open unfortunately leads us to limit ourselves because it paves a road to mediocrity, rather than one to success.Think about it this way: the person who goes to college knowing a job is waiting for them if they fail will never work as hard as the person whose only chance at success relies on their academic record. By limiting your options, you go all in, and force yourself to give your utmost effort to achieve a goal. Having a security blanket is important, so creating a backup plan can be worthwhile. However, making a commitment to one path or goal can also lead you to try harder -- and potentially be more successful in your efforts.