What Would Your Best Life Look Like?

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A reader asked me to elaborate on why the homepage of this wellness website has a line from Shakespeare on it.

And why the new Flabs to Fitness stickers say “Achieve Your Greatness” instead of something about blood, sweat, and tears for the 6-pack.

Well… here it goes:

You have something no one else on this planet has.  

And it’s up to you to figure out what that is and how to use it to its fullest. 

Where did this phrase “Achieve Your Greatness” come from?

“Achieve Your Greatness,” like a lot of the stuff that’s good in our modern time, was stolen from Shakespeare.

If comes from his famous comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will.  

This is a skewed version of a line you probably already know:

            “Some are born great

            Some achieve greatness

            And some have greatness thrust upon them.”

 

I think this is a more powerful message than you might realize. 

We don’t have control over how or where we’re born.

We don’t have control over all the situations we’re thrown into on the planet. 

But.

That middle line.

It’s telling us that there is a way we can achieve what we want. 

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

What does it mean to Achieve Your Greatness?

Think about it: the word “achieve” implies work. 

If you’re not even willing to look for a chance to achieve something… is that really what you want? Is it really your greatness? 

So, short and sweet: to Achieve Your Greatness means you’re ready to work for it.

That goal you’ve been shooting for.

You can get there. But it doesn’t come easy for most of us.

This line is both one of hope and advice.

We can dream big and achieve even bigger… but it comes at a price in the form of labor. 

Putting in those 10,000 hours to get to expert status.

And that doesn’t just mean in the form of direct work toward whatever that goal is.

It also means working on yourself enough to know what it is you want. How your body works. What it needs. What it doesn’t. 

The fact that 2 out of the 3 paths to greatness aren’t determined by us (at least, as far as this quote goes) can seem daunting to many.

But I think seeing the 1 out of 3 where we do have control is the first test of whether you’re worthy of the greatness you’re destined to achieve. 

So then: what is this “greatness” I keep referencing?

To Achieve Your Greatness is entirely up to you. 

What is it that you want?  

You need to start looking at health as a means to that end.

You simply cannot do the thing you love to its fullest if you’re lacking health, vitality, and confidence.

Sure, you can get away with half-assing it. You may not even know you’re half-assing anything. 

I get it. You become immersed in that thing you love to do. Obsessive.

But taking small steps each day to make sure your “shuttle” (i.e. your body) is fully functioning will make the journey so much easier. 

And that is what Achieve Your Greatness means.

Find your passion. Work like hell to achieve success in it. And take care of the vehicle getting you there. 

What is the point of working toward a goal?

Let’s make one thing clear, too: just because acting and standup comedy are my “Greatness” goals does NOT mean this is only geared toward artists.

This saying is geared to anyone with any sort of a goal. 

Want to land that awesome tech job? A clearer brain from a workout will prime you to nail that interview.

Trying to serve your family as the best mom ever? Feed yourself with top-quality nutrients to fuel your hectic day.

Looking to jump into your “side hustle” full-time? You need the focus of balanced hormones to help you handle the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.  

We all need to be healthy to do well at whatever our “thing” is.

So, work toward Achieving Your Greatness.

But let’s dial in in the health to make it so automatic, you don’t even need to put that valuable brain power toward taking care of yourself.

It’s just a thing you do that gets you one step closer to the Greatness you have full power over Achieving. 

And that, my friend, is how we make lasting impact on this weird world.