As cliché as it is, (re)asking yourself, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is still a very valid question.

Regardless of whether you’re eight or eighty reading this, F. Scott Fitzgerald has one of our favorite quotes on the subject:

“For what it’s worth: It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

In our business, we find the process of chasing after fun goals with vigor and passion allows for the process of constant growth and iteration to take place; we pull lessons learned and apply them to our next “thing”, whether that’s business related or a race we’re trying to run.

Go Be Great

There is a catch all to this repeatable process — “go be great.” Applying discipline, effort, and  a relentless attitude to all your pursuits in life (because how you do anything is how you do everything) pays dividends. We seem to have an excess focus on trying to make money from things, when money tends to follow success built on effort.

You know what this means for you. Only you know your capabilities. Only you know, truly, what you want in life. That means it’s on YOU to make that happen, from the environment you put yourself in to the people in your life to the incentives you put in place to drive you towards success.

Steve Martin also has a wonderful quote on the matter:

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Steve Martin

We think about this often, but not in terms of showmanship. We think about it in terms of helpfulness, resourcefulness, and our willingness to give. How can you help someone so deeply that they simply cannot ignore your contributions, find you irreplaceable to their own success, and therefore cement your place in this collective success?

It feels good to “be great.” It won’t always mean winning now, but it will always mean driving forward with that resilience that you are capable of winning in the future.

Be passionate. Demand excellence. Go be great.

Have the best day ever.