The great ones. The Michael Jordans and the Muhammed Alis, the Leonardo DiCaprios and the Mozarts. They captivate without announcing themselves They dazzle the world with their ability. Their drive and work ethic mesmerize us. They exude passion.
What drives these people to greatness?
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These all-time greats did what they did better than anyone else before them, and although they all developed their expertise around different passions, every single one of them understood two simple, yet profound truths which led them to inevitable success:
Greatness doesn’t happen by accident, it’s a decision.
Is it worth it to you to pursue greatness when you will undoubtedly be forced to make sacrifices along the way?
The great ones didn’t just happen to become great. They looked at the pros and cons of living a life of complacency, and the pros and cons of trying to become a legend. To them, the choice was clear. After these people decided they were going to become great, they only had to follow the path which became clear before them.
You can always be average and just do what's normal. I'm not in this to do what's normal. I mean it's a decision you’ve got to make if you want to accomplish anything that’s significant. You have to make that choice, and I made that choice a long time ago. We all had those obstacles that were in our way, we all had those doubts, but we chose.–Kobe Bryant
The common denominator among the greats is that they keep working to become the best, and this doesn't mean they stop when they are better than everyone else. No, that’s the thing about this concept "best," it is a peak which can never be reached, only approached.
You wind up having this, "infinite goal." It never ends, it never ends; you just keep growing and growing and growing and growing and growing, and that’s what is at the heart of my drive.—Kobe Bryant
You will never become great unless you try to become great. The day you stop focusing on being good enough, and truly start focusing on being much better than you were yesterday, is the day you will make success your destiny.
Failure isn’t a risk of becoming great, it’s required.
They say the difference between a master and a beginner is that the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. The great ones know this and they understand that failure is not a sign of inadequacy, but an indicator of a determined desire to grow. Only when you are completely familiar with failure will you be able to avoid it.
"Doubts kill more dreams than failure ever will"—Suzy Kassem. It may sound cliché, but it's true. Fear of failure is caused by the ego. What if I fail? Does it mean I don't have what it takes? What will others think? It’s true. If you try, you might fail. And if you don’t try, it’s possible that maybe you wouldn’t have failed.
But what is your goal? To avoid embarrassment? Or to do amazing things with your life? When trying will make you better no matter what, is it really a hard decision to make?
I can tell you right now that you will never be happier in life than when you are fearlessly pursuing an impossible dream. Because when you aim to do what cannot be done, you will end up doing everything that can possibly be done.
Once you release your ego, you set yourself free to grow and become better. Being able to look at your work or abilities from a non-biased point of view is only possible when your confidence is based upon future improvement, and not past results. Where a loser sees all the examples of things he is not good at, the winner sees all the opportunities he/she has to get better.
It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. But why? Yes, when you try something you are opening yourself up to the possibility of failing. However, I can guarantee you will be more likely to succeed at something if you have tried once and failed than if you haven't tried at all.
Too many people are crippled by the fear of failure, and this is why they will never be great. Ultimately, things will happen how you expect them to. When you anticipate things happening well, they will happen well. Greatness is not at all a matter of difficulty, but rather a matter of direction. Things aren’t easy or hard, they just appear to be. Each thing to be tackled is just a different journey. Some journeys require a higher level of determination, but do not mistake this for difficulty. The time will pass either way.
