“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy

Greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance; but largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline that can not be achieved without an enormous amount of hard work. There is simply no evidence of successful high-level performance without experience or practice. High expectations are exceedingly important and you must always expect more from yourself than anyone expects from you. You must dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. Jim Collins states that “while you can buy your way to growth, you cannot buy your way to greatness.”

Perserverance… Humilty… Initiative… Productivity… Integrity… Vision… These are all essential qualities that must be developed by combining intelligence, education, and knowledge learned with sustained practice. One must have the constant pursuit of innovation and improvement in order to ensure long-term success and the drive to follow through and make things happen. Charles Darwin said that it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor is it the most intelligent… but rather, the one most responsive to change… Adaptability is key because simply put, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time. General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army, says “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

Ask yourself, “Who do I intend to be?” and “How will I achieve it?” rather than “What am I going to do?”… “Who do I intend to be?” Ghandi said it well when he preached, “You must be the the change you wish to see in the world.”

Excellence… Passion… Enthusiasm… Empowerment… Creativity… Positivity… Greatness. We become who we associate with. Surround yourself with positivity and you will learn to be positive; surrround yourself with negativity and you will learn to be negative; surround yourself with greatness and you will learn to be great. Re-imagine and re-create… Learn and grow… Phil Daniels says, “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” The best thing an individual seeking greatness can do, is learn the term “I don’t know.” By admitting “I don’t know,” that first step towards learning has been accepted and the journey towards achieving one’s absolute best begins the pursuit of greatness.