Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night has the famous quote "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." But don't we all have the potential to be great? For some it is easier to attain greatness because of being born into better circumstances. For others it is harder but not impossible. But what does being "great" mean? Well in the bard's play it was about being in a position of honour and respect. However some of the greatest people are actually the ones who do not seek the limelight but would rather be very involved behind the scenes in making others great. They may not have many who respect or honour them because they are rather unknown. But if one who was taught or coached by them reached what most consider "great," then maybe others would finally recognise and acknowledge their greatness. And this brings me on to my thoughts about tennis! At the moment the stand out player in the world is Mr Djokovich. But how many know of Jelena Gencic? Well she was his first coach and he considered her like a second mother. Yet she only coached him tennis from 6 to 11.
Djokovich said:
"We were very close throughout my whole life and she taught me a lot of things that are part of me, part of my character today. I have the nicest memories of her and these will stay with me forever."
So following on from my thoughts about success from yesterday I am left with a similar thought about greatness:
Jelena Gencic achieved something great by inspiring another to be great.
So perhaps you might agree that:
"Many truly great people have been those who are committed to encouraging others to become great."
I wonder who the great coaches and teachers are and who they are inspiring to be future greats?
Djokovich said:
"We were very close throughout my whole life and she taught me a lot of things that are part of me, part of my character today. I have the nicest memories of her and these will stay with me forever."
So following on from my thoughts about success from yesterday I am left with a similar thought about greatness:
Jelena Gencic achieved something great by inspiring another to be great.
So perhaps you might agree that:
"Many truly great people have been those who are committed to encouraging others to become great."
I wonder who the great coaches and teachers are and who they are inspiring to be future greats?