Don’t be Scared of Greatness

Don’t be Scared of Greatness
By Jeff King, C.S.C.S

Who do you consider GREAT and how do you define GREATNESS? Recently I caught myself thinking about people who were or are great. Kobe Bryant, Steve Jobs, John Wooden, Denzel Washington and Magic Johnson just to name a few. All exemplify what greatness is about. Then I began to further look into this. I thought about all the work and dedication it took for all these men to be successful. The countless hours (10,000 hour rule), sacrifice, and commitment it takes to be the best in your respected field can be somewhat intimidating. Actually, forget that, it can be down right frightening. In my opinion, many people fail to become great. It is not that they do not want to do the work, (although some don’t), but rather because they are afraid. Once they are aware of the effort it takes to be great, many don’t want to sacrifice what they need whether this means spending less time with your family and friends, playing video games or even worse NOTHING!!!! The fundamental problem is people who think this have the wrong mindset.

Being great should not be about the end result. The journey to get to this point should carry more weight. If you appreciate the journey and commitment it takes to become great, you will be more likely to sustain it. Think about times in your life when you really worked to attain something or someone. Were you that kid who worked his or her butt off during the school year to save up for the initial down payment of your first car? Were you that man who put time and energy in trying to court a young lady to be your future wife? Are you that person who worked two jobs while attending college so you can earn a degree while at the same time raising two kids on your own? Take any situation like the ones I just mentioned and you realize getting these things was very rewarding because of the effort you put in to them. Being great is no different. If it means reaching your life goals and dreams, putting in the time and commitment is worthwhile. So now when any of my athletes tell me they want to play professionally, all I say to them is: “DON’T BE SCARED OF GREATNESS!!