The cost of greatness

The cost of greatness:

‍

The cost of greatness.

‍

How much are you willing to sacrifice to be great?

‍

That is a question every great person will ask themselves.

‍

How much?

‍

How much are you willing to suffer?

‍

How much are you willing to struggle?

How much are you willing to fail?

‍

How much are you willing to work?

‍

Are you willing to sacrifice everything?

‍

For success is not for everyone.

‍

It’s for the few.

‍

But success is also fleeting.

‍

It’s temporary.

‍

Here one moment.

‍

Gone the next.

‍

Top of the world now.

‍

Afterthought tomorrow.

‍

Greatness is different.

‍

Greatness is not temporary.

‍

It’s sustained.

‍

It’s consistent.

‍

It’s over a long period of time.

‍

Longer than most people can imagine.

‍

Can you win not once?

But three times, four times, five times?

How about 10 times?

‍

Or 20 times?

Then when you reach the top, can you go back to the beginning and work just as hard again?

‍

That’s the sacrifice you must make to be great.

‍

It is all-consuming.

‍

It is everything.

‍

Through it, you will question everything.

‍

All of it.

‍

Self-doubt will creep in.

‍

It will always be there in the background.

‍

The pressure in your head.

‍

The constant battle against yourself.

‍

Telling yourself ‘you’re not good enough.’

‍

‘You’ll never be anything.’

‍

‘You need to do more.’

‍

You’ll get nervous.

‍

You’ll be beaten.

You’ll get pushed aside by the guy behind you.

‍

Can you still come back?

‍

Even after all that?

‍

That’s what it takes.

‍

Watching the Rafa documentary now on Netflix.

‍

Incredible.

‍

So good.

‍

So well done.

‍

So well made.

‍

He was my GOAT.

‍

Him and Kobe.

‍

The two athletes I looked up to the most.

‍

Not because they won.

‍

But because they worked.

‍

They suffered.

‍

They sacrificed.

‍

They showed up.

‍

Even when they got injured.

‍

Especially when they got injured.

‍

In the moments when everyone would’ve quit, they stepped up.

‍

Not only stepped up, but they overdelivered.

‍

Kept working.

‍

Kept showing up.

‍

Not only when they lost.

‍

But even when they won.

‍

Even when they reached the mountaintop.

‍

They kept choosing suffering.

‍

Nadal had a great line in the documentary.

‍

‘In the basement of failures, there’s always one more floor.’

‍

Goddam.

‍

If that doesn’t encapsulate how hard it is to be great, I don’t know what does.

‍

You have to fail.

‍

Again.

‍

And again.

‍

And again.

‍

And yet keep showing up.

‍

Winston Churchill had a famous line.

‍

‘Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.’

‍

It’s the choice to keep showing up even when the world feels against you.

‍

When everything is going wrong.

‍

Can you still be there?

‍

Can you still show up?

‍

I want to be great.

‍

I hope I can be.

‍

But sometimes it’s hard.

‍

It’s tough.

‍

It’s never-ending.

‍

I can’t stop.

‍

It’s built within me.

‍

Has it cost me things in my life?

Of course.

‍

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

‍

My two sports icons showed me the way.

‍

You must suffer your way to the top.

‍

You must choose to be challenged.

‍

You must go into pain.

‍

Lean into that which you are most scared about.

‍

For life doesn’t happen when you are comfortable.

You only realize what it’s like to be alive when you’re questioning everything.

‍

That is the cost of greatness.

‍

Thank you Rafa.

‍

Thank you for showing the world.

‍

Your hard work, determination and willingness to suffer to be great is something that’s inspired millions of people around the world.

‍

To me, you will forever be the greatest tennis player of all time.

‍

So thank you.

‍

Thank you for suffering.

‍

Thank you for showing up.

Thank you for always doing your best.

‍

You’ve shown the world the cost of greatness.

‍