You might be surprised to read this, but one of the first goals I ever wrote when I created my first bucket list was to “learn everything”.
It’s certainly an ambitious goal – impossible even. With all the information out in the world, learning everything would probably take several lifetimes. And that’s assuming you could even pinpoint a finish line to the process.
But even if no one could possibly accomplish it, I still believe it is an extremely useful goal.
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A few years ago, when I was preparing to travel to Belize, a friend of mine asked me what my plans for the trip were. Specifically she wanted to know if I had a place to stay arranged before I arrived.
When I told her no, she was aghast. What would I do if I got there and there wasn’t a room available anywhere? She wouldn’t have been able to handle traveling so far away without making those arrangements beforehand.
I guess that’s what separates me from a lot of people. I get a big thrill out of not knowing what is going to happen next; it’s adventurous.
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“I would never be able to do that.”
“I don’t have what it takes to get there.”
These are some of the excuses I hear from people who tell me they aren’t able to do things others are doing. For some reason, they see an insurmountable barrier between themselves and these people.
But one important question to ask is this: “why couldn’t it be you?”
It’s a legitimate question. Is there a good reason why you can’t do what some other people are doing or are you just making excuses?
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When is the last time you gave everything you had to make something happen? By that I mean putting a ton of time into a goal with extreme focus and determination. It means becoming so passionate that you start to obsess.
If I had to pick one personality trait that helps me succeed, it would be the ability to become 100% dedicated to make a goal happen. It’s amazing how much immersing yourself completely into a goal can help you reach it.
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A reporter once asked Muhammad Ali how many sit ups he could do. The great boxer said he didn’t know. He only started counting when it started hurting.
This is the story I like to think about when I think about reaching greatness. Muhammad Ali is generally considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. Just by looking at this quote I can see why.
What made Muhammad Ali great is this ability to push past his limits so he could grow and become better. That’s what it takes to reach greatness. It means ignoring what you think is impossible to be the best.
So what qualities do you need to bring out your own greatness?
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I know it’s a rather morbid idea, but every once in a while I like to imagine what the last day of my life will look like. It’s more a matter of intellectual curiosity than grim preoccupation.
I can actually trace back to the moment when I started doing this. It all started with a phone call I received a few years ago. A friend of mine called me up and said he had some bad news for me. It was more than bad news though; it was terrible news.
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It’s easy to look back on your past and see how big decisions have changed your life. What’s harder to do is look back and realize how all those small everyday decisions have impacted you.
Most people give a lot of thought to making big decisions, but how many of us give much thought to the small everyday ones? There’s a great quote by Wayne Dyer that goes, “Our lives are the sum total of the choices we have made.” So what kind of life are your everyday decisions making?
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