Every person makes a name for themselves in this life.
Sometimes it’s a good name. Positive and uplifting. A name that when people here it or think about it, they feel good inside or it makes them smile. It could be a family member or a close friend. Or perhaps a beloved boss or mentor, or even a notable person from history.
Sometimes it’s a bad name. Negative and discouraging. A name that when people here it or think about it, their heart shrinks or their spine shudders. Too often it is a family member or someone with direct contact with our life. Rarely do public figures cast such a pall over our day-to-day lives.
Deep down, we all have a desire to be something greater than we are. To be the very best version of yourselves. Bigger, better, stronger.
There is a degree of ambition within every person. It is innate. We are born with it. It is our very divine nature. We are like gods in embryo, like an unhatched chick eager to burst forth and stretch its featherless wings, pecking at the shell that protected it, but is now keeping it imprisoned.
Maybe your ambition got buried somewhere along the way. Maybe you shut off the tap of inspiration through neglect or fear or apathy. Maybe your soul was squashed by your parents or your peers or by the media.
But that was then. Today is a new day. You get to choose how you will live moving forward. Get some help if you need it, professional help if necessary.
Don’t delay. Crack the shell. Break the surface. Your ambition wants to be free. It wants to free you. As Nelson Mandela said, “There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
Become the best you that you can be. The name you make for yourself is the sum of your thoughts, words, and actions. And there is no neutral ground. If you choose to say and do nothing, to sit idly by on the sidelines of life, the net effect is still negative. Because if you’re not a positive force, you are lumped into the negative by default.
Make a great name for yourself. Not out of pride or of accolades, but to be a light to the world. Your ambition craves it. The world needs it. Your soul demands it.
To your good fortune!
