The School of Greatness - 369 What Does It Take to Achieve Greatness?

Episode Date: August 18, 2016

"Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, godlike feature that only the special among us will ever taste. It's something that truly exists in all of us." - Will Smith If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at http://lewishowes.com/369

This is 5-Minute Friday, episode number 369, and what does it take to achieve greatness? Will Smith said, greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, godlike feature that only the special among us will ever taste. It is something that truly exists in all of us. You know, watching the Olympics, it can be easy to think that the greatest athletes in the world have something special or born with some unique gift. Now, is that true? Is that absolutely true? What does it take to achieve greatness really? And Michael Phelps, yes, he's tall, which is great for swimmers. And Simone B he's tall, which is great for swimmers,

and Simone Biles is short, which is great for gymnastics. Were they just destined to become the best in the world at their sports though? Michael was scared of putting his head underwater as a kid. His parents divorced and he was diagnosed with ADHD. Now Simone grew up fatherless with a drug addicted mom who was sent to jail over and over and was in and out of foster homes before she was five years old. Now, any of these things could have taken over their physical potential as athletes.

So what really makes greatness? If you peel back the layers, we all have potential for greatness inside of us. It's our choices, our decisions, day in and day out, that make the difference between being great or just being average. It has nothing to do with the situation we were born into, the body that we have, or the IQ we test at. And the best part is, unlike gold medals, true greatness can be achieved by everyone what would the world look

like if everyone was making the choice to live up to the greatness that's born inside of them how many gold medals would there be in things like motherhood and fatherhood and entrepreneurship and medical discoveries and teaching and relationships and politics and so much more. And what would you look like if you made the small but powerful choices every day to cultivate it within yourself? Again, Michael Phelps said, you can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. And he is living proof of that. Simone Biles said, I'm not the next Usain Bolt

or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles. She has defined what greatness is for her and reminded the rest of us to do the same in the process. So what does it really take to achieve greatness? Here's the thing, guys. It takes you being you to the very best of your ability. It's that simple. It takes living up to your unique gifts and becoming the very best version of yourself that you can be. You know, I struggled in so many things, in school, in relationships, in finding friends, in speaking on stage, in athletics. I was picked last on sports teams when I was in elementary school.

In my entire life, I've been committed to my dreams, committed to my vision, committed to my passion, and I've consistently shown up, given, worked harder and harder every single day to make them come true. The secret is consistency, believing in yourself, and working extremely hard to get to where you want to be. You may never win a gold medal in swimming or gymnastics, but it still doesn't mean you can't be great at whatever it is you want to be, even if you don't win a gold medal.

Everyone at the Olympics is incredible athletes, but it doesn't mean they're not all great. The Rock said, the road to success and greatness is always paved with consistent hard work. Make sure to outwork your competitors and be authentic. And above all else, chase your greatness. My name is Lewis Howes. Thank you so much for being here. lewishowes.com slash 369. This is 5-Minute Friday.

And what does it take to achieve greatness? I want you to send me a message over on Twitter letting me know what you think it takes to achieve greatness. At Lewis Howes over there. And share this with your friends, lewishowes.com slash 369 to inspire them to step up in their lives even more to achieve their own greatness. We do this every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

If this is your first time here, thank the person who shared the link with you and make sure to subscribe to this podcast over on iTunes to give you the inspiration, motivation, and education to step things up in your life every single week. I love you very much and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you. Outro Music