Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Antalan: Born to be great By Roger P. Antalan Dateline Igacos
I ALWAYS feel sad when I hear someone says: "I am born loser." There is good reason therefore to talk about the flipside of this regrettable doormat mentality. As a Human Resource Management practitioner, I have often been tasked to share some thoughts to inspire others to answer the call to greatness. Let me start with a funny anecdote.
A rich patriotic American decided to reward $1000 to anybody who can answer correctly the question: Who is the greatest person on earth? Here are the different answers: The French man said: "Charles de Gaulle." The Englishman "Winston Churchill." The Spaniard -- "El Cid." The Filipino -- "Jose Rizal." To all of them, the American said: "Wrong!" The Chinese however gave this answer: "George Washington." "Correct!" said the American, and awarded the $1000 to the Chinese. Then the Chinese whispered: "Actually Dr. Sun Yat Sen is the greatest. But business is business."
Of course, Mohammad Ali, the boxing great, does not agree. He thinks he is "the greatest." We will not talk about the "BBSS" -- those who are "believe na believe sa sarili." Aside from the truly great such as the certified national heroes and the champions of industry, the arts, the academe and sports, for example, there are other great achievers all over the land. The task of inspiring others has already been amply done through their superior achievements and exemplary lives. They are the true inspirers, the special breed, and the greatest in their own right.
Greatness is not a monopoly of one or just a few. All of us are called to be great. The first and only measure of greatness is man himself. For man is the only creature in this known universe capable of reaching the unknown heights, which are reserved only for the divine or the realm of the superior beings.
We have the seeds of greatness in each and every one of us. The fact of our birth is already a victory. Out of the thousand seeds of our parents, we came out as the one individual chosen to see the light of day and of existence. And as the leader from birth it is our business to continue the call to greatness - to turn obstacles into stepping-stones, weaknesses into strengths and disasters into triumphs.
What is comforting, however, is that, from the experience of many ages, God measures a person by putting the tape around the heart and not around the head. Any man or woman even of the humblest sort can be strong, gentle, pure and good to the highest degree and make the world a better place to live in. The truly great man is not one who knows most but the one who loves most. In fact, if we keenly observe it, some people make the world special just by being in it. In the words of Charles Dickens, these are the people who "have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."
Sometimes we wonder how we, ordinary mortals, can ever be great. Jean Paul Richter says: "Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good actions; try to use ordinary situations." Extraordinary people do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. David Starr Jordan says:
"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; skill is knowing how to do it; and virtue is doing it." Remember the popular Chinese proverb: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." Only those who have the patience and the perseverance to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
In addition, here are some more wonderful thoughts on greatness by William Arthur Ward: "The truly great are the most grateful. The most inspiring are the most inspired. The most convincing are the most convinced. The most pleasing are the most pleasant."
Let me conclude with a simple anecdote. Once upon a time, a great artist carved a great work of art from a rough slab of stone. When the beautiful figure was finished and publicly exhibited, the people praised the artist profusely. The artist however corrected his admirers: "The perfect figure was inside the stone all the time. I just carved out the unnecessary parts." The seed of greatness is present in every person. It is all up to that person to measure up to the wonderful call of greatness, and make this world special by the brilliance of his presence.
