GREATNESS: A CHOICE, COURSE AND THE SCORE

Greatness entails the quality of outstanding importance or eminence, illustriousness, fame or renowned. Great one is the one who is important in the society and worthy of note; the one whose name is written in gold in the book of history and carried along from generation to generation. Great men are honorably selfless: the one who gave up his sleep for others to sleep; the one who gives himself headache in order to heal others headache. Great men even though they die, their names and deeds remain immortal.

Greatness is not physical wealth even though it attracts physical wealth. It is the wealth of mind, and only the wealthy of mind attains it. That is the reason why majority desires to be great while few made it to greatness.

Shakespeare rather opined, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"(William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night). 

Although that seems to be true, but definitely not what it is, we should try not to misunderstood wealth with greatness. Greatness is not an inheritance but achievement, a score of rightful decision, determination and hard work. It is not luck but a choice. 

Everyone is born great, but not everyone chooses to be great. Yes, greatness is in the mind and everyone poses a mind; but it is a choice, a course and the score. Do not be misunderstand it, wealth can be inherited not greatness. You can only inherit wealth not greatness. Someone can make you wealthy but you can only make yourself great.Yes people can help you in your part of greatness but they can never make you become great, you choose it and give it  yourself.

You must choose to be great and follow the right route to greatness; the end lies the score of the successful journey - greatness.  Lucius Annaeus Seneca rightly observed, "It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness".

The truth is this, if you want to be great, think and act great. This is because greatness doesn’t come through desire alone. You have to think then “act.” Aristotle’s promise is this: "if you want a virtue, act as if you already have it and then it will be yours." Change comes through action, and action comes through thinking. You must think first, Act, then you become. It is natural, you become what you think, thus Paul wrote, “...be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."(Romans 12:2)

The Patron Saint of Manliness, Teddy Roosevelt, also lived by this principle of acting in order to become.  He said:
"There were all kinds of things I was afraid of at first, ranging from grizzly bears to “mean” horses and gun-fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid".

Teddy wanted to be fearless even though he wasn’t. Instead of sitting around and thinking his way into courage, he put himself into dangerous and uncomfortable situations and acted courageously. Eventually he became the man who led the charge up San Juan Hill and journeyed down an unexplored river in the Amazon. He took action in order to become the man he wanted to be.

Modern psychologists have a theory on why acting-to-become is such an effective way of changing who you are and how you feel about yourself, this is termed cognitive dissonance. It explains that when there is a conflict between your self-perception and how you’re actually behaving, you experience dissonance or tension, and your brain moves to close the gap by shifting how you feel about yourself to match how you’re acting.


Hence, if you want to achieve greatness, you must not see it as ”luck" but as an achievement based upon right decision and hard work. You must take the decision, trade the path and land to that glorious city of greatness. 

Don't be confused, greatness doesn't mean being "master of all", it means being outstanding in a particular field of endeavor. Knowing what to do, when to do it and how best to do it. It must not have a something so big or overwhelming but that little thing you have interest at doing, with must effort and dedication, you can work to make it big. Ray Lewis thus said, "Greatness is a lot of small things done well. Day, after day. Workout after workout. Obedience after obedience. Day after day". Ziz Ziglar in his submission stated that you do not have to be great to start but you start to be great.

Greatness calls for creativity and innovation. Doing what everyone else has been doing but in different way and come out big with a different landmark result. The difference you make is what makes you great. It is the difference that people sees and reference you for, as no great man ever acclaim himself great. William Hazlitt is on the same page when he put, "No really great man ever thought himself so" (William Hazlitt Whether Genius is Conscious of Its Powers?) 

You're not great if you've not make any difference and people have not seen any reason to talk about you. Greatness is not an ordinary occurrence for ordinary people; it is a great task that you must first condition your mind for. It requires feeling and acting beyond ordinary, overall transformation of your ordinary person into extraordinary being, thinking differently and seeing things in the eye a great man.

 In the words Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." 

 A Yiddish Proverb also says, "If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep."   

Above all, seek divine presence as no one would claim he has power of his own and it is only with God that you can do all things. (cf Philippians 4:13). 
In the words of Albert Einstein, "When the solution is simple, God is answering." 

Thus Lucius Annaeus Seneca submits, “It is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man and the security of a God."
It is in you! So start now, make the right choice, follow the right course, think it, act it and you will definitely become great!