In his play, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare said, “Be not afraid of greatness. Some of us are born great, some of achieve greatness, and others of us have it thrust upon us.”
Regardless of which category we fall into, Shakespeare was inspiring us not to be afraid of our own greatness.
Let’s try it like this, “Be not afraid of your greatness.” That simple insertion of ‘your’ allows you to take ownership of what you already have inside of you, ‘Greatness,’ if you will.
Sometimes we are so keen to say, “if this…,” or “if that.” Yet, often times we let the moment pass us by. A moment to step in and help someone, to inspire, to simply be the impact we desire to see in the world in some way or another.
Marianna Williamson gave us, Our Great Fear. She noted, “You playing small doesn’t best serve the world.” We all have certain talents, or even that ONE distinctive skill that separates us from others. What is yours? You will never know if you continue to say, “I can’t do anything about it.”
Seek them. Find them. Use them. These are your gifts to the world, and the world needs all of us using our gifts together to create the world we want to live in.
Along those lines, Gandhi challenged us by saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Again, words we can easily take as, “Be the change you want to see in your world.” Sometimes, we sell situations short and think, “it’s not my job or this should be taken care of by someone else.” It is moments like these where our ‘Greatness’ can truly be challenged and appreciated in the same breath.
If you were to, “Be not afraid of your greatness,” “Not play small,” and “Be the change you want to see in your world…,” that would increase your chance of achieving your amazing potential. It just might leave a smile on our face and the faces of everyone you come into contact with.