Charles De Gaulle Quote on Being Great Only If We Are Determined To Be So

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.”

Charles De Gaulle

Beyond the Quote (322/365)

To be great, at the very least—as a bottom-line minimum requirement—you have to decide to be great. And you can’t just want to be great—it has to be a decision. Deciding and wanting are not one and the same. To decide is to have made up your mind. It means you’ve reviewed all of the alternative options and consequences in your head and you’ve come to a conclusion. It represents a clear starting point that can be followed with clear and aligning actions.

Wanting is an ongoing state of desire. It is vague, unclear, and open ended. It is a fantasy that goes on getting built up in your head alongside all of the other desires that pop up and go as they please (or as they’re washed into your brain). It represents, along with all of the other wants in your life, an ever increasing gap between where you are and where you want to be.

The moment you move from desire to decision is the moment that the gun shot goes off at the starting line of your race and you may begin! The moment you add more desire to your desires is the moment that the finish line gets moved further away. News flash: greatness isn’t a contest to see who can move their finish line the furthest away. And yet, when you listen to how most people talk, you might get confused and think that it is. Greatness is about crossing and collecting finish lines. It’s reserved for the runners, not the daydreamers.

So, rather than brag about how far away your finish line is, stop talking about it at all. Just set out to cross some finish lines and run in silence. Smile at, but disregard the other people who are running beside you. Run your own race and let others run theirs. Follow your designated, pre-decided upon route and stay the course. Talk about the finish lines you’ve crossed (if you so desire) once you’ve crossed them. And make the decision to do it again (and here’s the key) more than others are willing to. THAT is the path to greatness and THAT is the decision that you have to decide if you’re willing to make—not once, but over and over again.

For, greatness is not a decision that is made only once. It is a conscious, deliberate decision that is made, again and again—day after day, week after week, year after year. Show me someone great and I will show thousands (millions?) of great decisions. Show me something great and I will show you more of the same thing. The good news is that there is no shortage of finish lines that you can cross. The bad news is that everything in the world is trying to move them further and further away from you. The question is, what are you going to do about it?

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