Greatness Comes From Within You

One common denominator among some of the most successful men in the world is that they dropped out of school to follow their passion. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and other great entrepreneurs fall within this category. I am sure their families, friends and associates would have felt disappointed when these choices were made; but they did whatsoever was necessary to achieve their dreams. The gamble paid off and they have become very successful; with the whole world celebrating their ingenuity and greatness at their various endeavors.

I am not implying that going to school is bad, but these men had to decide at that time to pursue their dreams and not miss the tide, or listen to reason and follow establishment rules.

It comes at a price and its not handed over on a platter of gold. It involves a lot of sacrifice and personal effort and could be achieved in almost any endeavor. Successful sportsmen and artists must put in a lot of time horning their craft to near perfection at the detriment of their personal relationships and families but it is a choice they have to make. They must have a great deal of self believe in their talent and abilities to make such choices.

Greatness can only come from within as you have to be your own cheerleader before others can join. It is that faith and inner strength that would enable you to push yourself beyond limits, regardless of the possible consequences.

“If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission.”- Annonymous

The world is full of lots of talented people who have wasted their gifts and opportunity at being great because their choices involved things they aren’t passionate about. I have met doctors who only studied medicine to make their parents proud only to end up never practicing medicine for a day. Just imagine the time and resources that has been wasted on another person’s dream.

You don’t need anyone’s validation to pursue your dreams; as you have to be very passionate about what you do to break boundaries.  It’s true that family and friends could sometimes become a source of discouragement; but this is because they care and are afraid of uncertainty. You have to hear them out, note their concerns and weigh all options as failure could have dire consequences. But remember that the buck stops at your table and your choices would depend on how bad you want it.

There is a possibility that any of the above mentioned entrepreneurs or successful persons; who had to make certain choices could have failed at their various initial projects; but I am confident that they would have succeeded at something else in their lifetime. That same passion lying within them would never have let them give up.

Greatness is about the struggle between innovation and the establishment. The need to improve on things from the way it’s been done previously. It would only happen when you take action on idea or a plan you are passionate about.