Be ready to pay the price for greatness
What you need to know:
- We walked in silence because talking consumes energy and breath. We came across a group of gentlemen coming down who had been to the mountain top earlier
Up at about 4am, our journey had started. We could now see the rays of the sun coming through. In a distance, we could make out the shape of the heads, which showed us there were human beings ahead of us and those who were returning from the peak.
We walked in silence because talking consumes energy and breath. We came across a group of gentlemen coming down who had been to the mountain top earlier. One of them looked at me, being the only woman in the group and he said almost emphatically, “I doubt you will make it to the top.”
What did he just say? My anger and frustration started to raise but he had already walked past with his negative energy. His statement became the fuel I needed to make it to the peak and back. How dare he?
These exact thoughts run through my mind as I spoke to one of the children. A deep seated memory from the time when I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. He is a great footballer and has been for a while. But there came a time when he was drawn into a life of excuses and self-pity.
I had this tough conversation with him and asked him the fundamental question that I have asked myself severally, “do you know that greatness comes at and with a price?! Are you ready to pay the price for greatness?’
He hesitated in his response and replied with a feeble yes. I told him to stop and think about it deeply. I also asked him to speak only when he was sure. Then I asked him again, “are you ready to pay the price for greatness?”
Greatness is not for the weak or the sloppy. Greatness is not for the one who will put in the effort when they feel like it and withdraw when it is not convenient. Greatness is for those who are ready to conquer their emotions.
Someone said, not everyone gets to be a part of the Olympics. And not everyone gets to be celebrated without putting in the time and effort.
We live in a world where people want accolades at minimal or no cost. People want to be celebrated when they have nothing to show for it. Children dream of being world players in different fields but do not understand what it takes to get to the top. They believe money grows in auto teller machines- ATMs and that milk comes from the supermarket.
I often put it to myself and to my own children, there is a price for the top. You do not just fly to the top. You must put in time and effort. To be good, you have to put in time. Excellence requires deep sacrifice.