P.S: Most people loved the entries on How to Deepen Your Friendships, Part I, Part II & Part III. Also check out the entries on How To Deal With Toxic People & How To Negotiate.
“We all carry the seeds of greatness within us, but we need an image as a point of focus in order that they may sprout.” — Epictetus
“And have you not received faculties which will enable you to bear all that happens to you? Have you not received greatness of spirit? Have you not received courage? Have you not received endurance?” — Epictetus
Listen. No one is above you. No mastery celestial. No crown too heavy. No glory out of reach.
Strip successful people down bare - titles gone, wealth erased, applause silenced. What’s left? A body. A mind. A will. The same raw elements you possess. You’re as much a person as they are.
They weren’t chosen. They chose themselves - believed they were made for greatness. Then others believed.
They practiced discipline and courage as more than just abstract concepts, learned to see through obstacles instead of complaining about them. They welcomed struggle. Let it carve them into something resilient, adaptable. Let it chop off the competition. They moved with purpose so deep, not even success could slow them down.
And if it was built, it can be built again, in the path you desire. Reverse engineer their greatness, tear it apart piece by piece, get inside the groove - you’ll see the truth: you can do it too. Direct your energy with laser focus. Make mistakes faster. Drop your ego and master the basics, learn what you don’t know. Take every ounce of effort they gave. Give more. Pour yourself into your craft until your own progress awes you. And if in doubt, constantly remind yourself as Marcus Aurelius did,
“If it is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.”
There is no secret. No unseen force choosing who rises and who doesn’t. We’re all strangers in this universe, at war with the elements, with entropy, far from home. There is only work, iteration, learning, time, and an iron will.
Give a problem singular, undivided focus over time, and you won’t just match your idols - you’ll surpass them.
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Most often, I built myself because life left me no choice. I never had the luxury to say ‘I can’t’ - it was always ‘I must,’ just to survive. Later, through work, discipline, dedication, and my own choice, I surpassed everything others had predicted for me. Ask yourself: how much of you has been shaped by necessity, and how much by choice?
The myth is that greatness is rare. The truth is it’s common but unfinished.
Plenty of people start with the same raw materials — focus, practice, willpower. Most give up too early, not because they can’t, but because persistence feels boring compared to the story of “talent.”
📌 Endurance, not brilliance, is the real differentiator.
⬖ Reframing greatness at Frequency of Reason: bit.ly/4jTVv69