Can a popular person be great?

That is, can a person who is popular with others, or has a wide following, also be a great person, great in the objective sense - wise, conscious, evolved - not the ordinary sense?

That is, is greatness an objective quality some people possess, or is it a quality that even CAN be possessed by popular people? Can you have one with the other?

Generally, people who are widely known, either in their own circle, city, society, or world, have characteristics that can be identified (with) by ordinary people - not especially gifted people, or challenged people, but 'just people'. Fame (being 'well-known') seems to be the currency of such popularity - the more popular one is, the more famous one is, though the converse is rarely true.

When I think of so-called 'popular' (famous) people, I don't generally think of them as 'great' - just popular. And when I think of so-called 'great' people (and I'd be hard-pressed to produce even a few names), these are not popular people - quite the contrary, they usually have a very small following at best. And when I think of their 'following', I expect very few would call 'their Great-ness' popular - just Gr-r-r-r-r-reat!

So, what if a person is already popular, and wants to be great? What can they do? Since popularity oftens stems from being liked by many, perhaps by being dis-liked by those many, on purpose? Of course, to do that would be to give-up something many people hold dear - approval from others. Can a person who seeks approval from others be a great person? If not, then, where to begin this self-imposed task?

Also, when you consider 'greatness', are such people especially Good to others, or are they Good to themselves first and foremost? Or, can one be truly Good to others, who is not first, truly Good to themselves? And, can one be Good to themselves, who does not really know themselves?

That is, let's just say that mental deterioration in old-age is not a physical fait accompli. That, in fact, it is possible to be stronger, more alive, more alert, mentally, in old age than at any time. Let's just say you could 'agree' with that premise (though you can not mechanically do that), could you also speculate as to how to achieve that result, knowing beforehand that THAT would be being truly GOOD to yourself?

hmmmm.....