Greatness

   Nelson Mandela died recently. He was a great man who many people respected, but his passing made me start thinking about something. What makes people respect you, and more importantly, what makes people follow you? Is it your ideas, or could it be something as simple as willingness? People often concentrate on the ideas of great men, but I don’t think our ideas and beliefs are as important as our willingness to go to the ends of the earth to make our beliefs and ideas become a reality. In my short lifetime, I’ve seen men with great ideas who I admired. They were musicians, writers, presidents, and educators, but I’ve never believed in any of them in the way that I’ve believed in some people in my life who are no one special, or at least they’re no one special to the world. The people I choose to follow and constantly imitate, walk the walk. If they have a belief or they have an idea, they live their life exactly as they believe they should and do everything in their power to make their ideas and dreams a reality. To me, that’s what separates people. We all have at least one great idea in our lifetime, and we all have a creed that we live by, but how many of us are willing to dedicate ourselves wholly to those dreams and beliefs?

   Think back to history. What made the difference between a good president and a great one, and what musicians and writers are remembered as great? They are the ones who did more than sell you on an idea or a product. You could see everything they were saying in their life. They lived their ideals, their music, and their words. They stood out above everyone because they weren’t like anyone else. They were a shining example of what they were talking about. They didn’t have to sell you on an idea because their life and their passion were enough to make you believe in anything they said. I challenge myself everyday to be more like those people.

   Sometimes those people come in the form of a Nelson Mandela or a John F Kennedy, but sometimes they come in the form of a mom or a dad. I challenge you to be that person. Do more than tell your children how they should live their lives. Show them why your way works through a shining example that is you. Be that example in your schools, workplaces, and homes. If you are, you’ll always get the respect and admiration you deserve. Don’t do it for that, though. Do it for the beliefs and things that you are passionate about because when you live a life that is true to who you are and what you hold dear, then you’ll find that everything in life is worth it, and no situation is too big.

   Well, that’s all I have on my mind today, guys. I hope that everything is going well for everyone, and I hope that you can live up to whatever expectations you have for yourself. Thanks for reading, and check out Strange Visions: The Storm on December 14^th.