Greetings ghenry. I am going to attempt to answer your overall question by talking about something else. Drums. I have been playing drums for about 17 years now. When i started, i was good ... for newbie. I was quite good actually, but i was still a newbie. I couldn't hold my weight in a band, but i had the aptitude (and passion) to learn more, to be better. As the years rolled on and my practice continued, i got better. And better. And better. I was still good -- but i was not, am still not, and perhaps will never be ... GREAT.

You see, it really is not about the destination. It's about the journey. Being good means nothing without prefacing where you are on your timeline. We all have different levels of attainment. You can be really good at getting stuff done -- but don't nobody look under that hood. ;) You can be really good at building that engine under the hood, clean and efficient -- but don't deliver on time and tend to "overkill."

In short, you know how good you are by judging yourself against your peers. And if you really want to be good, if you really always want to aim for greatness even if you will always fall short ... surround yourself with those better than yourself.

Hope this helps. :)

L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)