Daring to Be Great

lydon.sipe (67)in #life • 7 years ago

“When we spend our lives waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make. Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience.” -Brene Brown

Life and success are defined by challenges. How could they possibly be enjoyable or entertaining if they were not? Failure is the essence of success. It is falling in the dirt and the grime, and rising to face our obstacle again. It's testing what we are made of day in and day out. The question is not if, but when we fall. You are not a loser if you fall. You only lose when you stay down - you lose when you give up.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream.

It is not a destination - success is as simple as taking the first step. Imagining great ideas is one thing, but no one is blessed by what we create in our minds; neither are we until we share our gifts. We cannot expect what we do to be perfect, nor should we. All we are called to do, is distribute our gifts and talents to people. As the farmer says, "The hungry ones will come running." We are not going to attract everyone with what we have. What company in the world does? Work at your craft, display it to the world, and your audience will notice.

My grandfather told me that it takes as much energy to dream small, as it does to dream big - so why not dream big?

At the same time as we are achieving our success, that success is being redefined. We are always dreaming bigger and better. The leaders who leave legacies don't settle, and neither should you. You are better than that. Your playing small does not benefit anyone. Your playing small doesn't change the world.

My grandfather has changed the world, and he continues to. We may think that changing the world is done only by those that receive notoriety in the media or are immortalized in history. Those who change the world, are those that live life with an emotional integrity. Their thoughts, private life, and actions, amalgamate into a life that blesses people.

Daring to be great, is daring to be vulnerable.

It is being honest with ourselves about where we are. You may be on the sidelines - admit it and jump into the arena. We must have enough integrity to be willing to fail, and not let it define us. Get up, and go after what you want. There is no other person on the planet who can do what you can. If we wait for perfection, we will never have anything. Instead, we'll end our lives in regret, wishing that we had acted. When we never face our challenges, it doesn't give them permission to leave, it gives them permission to haunt us.

Thank you for visiting.