You Are Either Great — Or You Are Not. There Is No Middle Ground.

The headline of this article may quickly irritate, insult, or intimidate some of you. However, the reality of greatness is far less nuanced and complex than many understand — or seek to understand. You either are great, or you are not.

Yet greatness is not the result of the endeavor; true greatness is derived from the attempt. This is true whether we are talking about sport, parenting, personal health and fitness, academics, an entrepreneurial venture, or anything else that requires passion and pushing yourself beyond the bounds of normal comfort.

Greatness is taking the bold move. It is not being concerned with onlookers and their comments from the sidelines. Anyone who critiques someone daring to dream and taking action to achieve those goals can sit back on their couch and be quiet. Most people are familiar with the timeless Man in the Arena quote. If you are not, I highly recommend looking up Roosevelt’s words — they speak to the truth.

The only way to be a loser is to never leave the shadows.

All of us who have achieved any level of success — by any internal or external metric — have failed, and failed often. It is so commonplace that it would be cliché if it weren’t so essential to the process. Losses will happen. We must experience them and endure them. And we will often find that negative commentary comes from a familiar place: people who never step into the arena.

They don’t understand that missteps and shortcomings — whether small or enormous — are part of the process and irrelevant to whether someone is great. They don’t understand because they never tried anything great. They never attempted to be the best version of what they were capable of. They never put themselves out there — out where others might judge them for not meeting some arbitrary standard.

There is no risk-free greatness, and there is no way to know our limits if we don’t push ourselves. In that push is where greatness is defined and earned. You won’t succeed all the time — but you will succeed far more than you ever would have if you stayed on the sidelines and played it safe. That isn’t living; that’s merely existing in a space of mediocrity.

Everyone has different passions and purposes. Some are public. Others are private or deeply personal. The goal itself matters less than the fact that it requires you to push your limits and strive to be the best version of yourself. That pursuit may open you up to shortcomings and criticism — but those comments don’t matter. They almost always come from the timid who never truly tried to live.

Be brave. Fail. Get back up and try again.

Relish the greatness found in the attempt.

By Chris Sinclair
Founder, The Anthem Group