Most of the great and successful people of this world began the process of being great when they were young. They didn’t wake up mid-life and become great. No. Greatness isn’t an event, it is a process.

Becoming great is something that best germinates in a young heart. However, greatness can be unleashed at whatever age you recognize its potential in your life.

Greatness usually begins when you identify areas in which you are gifted or enlightened. Then you have a choice to make. Do you develop those areas or do you ignore them? Your ultimate purpose and success in life can be traced back to those divine gifts you recognized, honored, and developed. You may be great in other ways, but never as great as when you unleash that which was gifted in you.

So begin, or continue, the process of procuring greatness!

So what are the secrets to being great? No secrets really! Here are a few thoughts and suggestions that might encourage you to stay on the path of greatness:

Make Great Choices—Every choice you make is either a plus or a minus in the value system of your success. Successful people simply have more pluses in their column. You will make mistakes, that’s for sure. But even a minus of a mistake can be turned into a plus if you learn from it and don’t repeat it! Be patient with yourself as you are only human, but be proactive with yourself to attempt the superhuman feat of making great choices!

Choose Great Friends—Friends. We collect a lot of them over the years. The friends you have today may not be lifelong friends, but the decisions you make today with your friends will stick with you the rest of your life. A great friend always has your best interest in mind. A great friend encourages you to be the best you, not the dumbed-down, paperback version of you. A great friend will tell you the truth, even when the truth hurts and is painful to hear. In general, a friend either propels you to greatness or pulls you down into mediocrity. 

Dream Great Things—Your dreams have a better chance of coming true if you work on them a little each day. But remember, the idea for a dream is merely a crush. A plan to make that dream come true is the relationship. Don’t merely have crushes—commit to the relationship. 

Develop Great Qualities—The qualities you know you have? Develop them! Exercise them. Put them to work for you. Observe great people. Seek to emulate their great qualities. Interview them. Work for them. Ask great men and women to guide and mentor you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Welcome constructive criticism and feedback. And just to set the record straight, an inflated ego doesn’t have to accompany greatness. The greatest of the great are humble, kind, thoughtful, understanding, selfless, grateful, and quietly confident individuals...which makes them all the more remarkable! 

Nurture Great Awareness—A large percentage of one’s greatness lies in the ability to understand who you are. To harness the power of your personal strengths and temper the peril of your personal weaknesses presents unstoppable life potential. Be a student of you. Grade yourself in all things with honesty and clarity, settling for nothing less than straight A’s where your personality is concerned. Great people know how to put a finger on their thoughts and feelings, then proactively find and utilize techniques to live successfully with, around, or above those emotions. You will never be all you can be for others if you are not all you can be for yourself. 

Seek a Great Purpose—Finally, in your pursuit of doing great things, don’t forget to do good things! Some great people lose themselves when great things happen. The best way to keep first things first is to seek a calling rather than a profession, a purpose rather than a paycheck, and a legacy rather than acknowledgment. Then, no matter what you choose to do in life, your life calling will be front and center. Keep the desire for a great legacy at the center of every great day.

Greatness begins today with you determining to incorporate great things, great people, and great practices into your life, and then keeping them there.

Become great! 

-Paul Joiner