What do Will Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, Brett Favre, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela, Don Shelby, Elvis Presley, Stephen Spielberg, Bill Gates, Norman Rockwell and Hubert Humphrey have in common?
Every once in awhile I find it necessary to remind myself of what it takes to get to the top. I don’t expect to ever get there but we all have dreams. Like me most of you aren’t interested in being the best at whatever you do but
whether you want to have a winning football team, write a best selling book, be an exceptional speaker, manager, teacher or whatever, it helps to know how to get to the summit in case you change your mind.
All of those people I mentioned above have had a taste of what it is like to be the very best, to be at the top. We could add thousands of others to the list. Maybe they didn’t stay there long but at least they have had a glimpse from on high. How did they get there?
1. Passion. Charles Lindbergh had a passion for flying. It was the only thing he ever wanted to do. His goal was to be the first aviator to fly across the Atlantic, and he did it because he really, really wanted to do it.
One of the activities I have many of my students (teachers) do is to write out a personal plan of passion. In that plan I ask them what they are truly passionate about and what they do on a daily basis that would show their passion. Perhaps it’s just me, but I think all of us should be passionate about something. It gives us a sense of purpose.
Brett Favre has to have a passion for playing football at age 40. When we think of passion we think of a strong emotion coupled with boundless enthusiasm. Isn’t that Brett Favre? Look at Brett Favre after each game. He exudes passion.
Passion drives us.
2. People. People who have achieved some greatness (maybe with the exception of writers and actors) have done so because they also knew about how to be a people person. They genuinely enjoy being around others and others enjoy being around them. Will Rogers, the cowboy with a rope who entertained on vaudeville, had that magic. Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton have that magic and so did Hubert Humphrey.
They have something to offer others and when they talk to you, it’s as if you are the only person in the world.
3. Clarity of language and clarity of focus. People at the top usually know how to speak well. They talk so everyone understands what they are saying. Athletes are an exception to this rule. Others like Don Shelby of WCCO, Walter Cronkite, and even Sarah Palin in her folksy, “you betcha” style, know how to communicate.
These same people have clarity of focus. They know where they are going and thow to get there. They are undaunted. They are resilient. They are glued to their goals.
Bill Gates at age 13 began programming computers and never stopped. When Amelia Earhart was 23 she took her first airplane ride and knew flying was her destiny. If you are clear about where you want to go, you have a good chance of getting there.
4. Know how. Elvis knew how to sing and move his hips. He knew what his audience wanted and he delivered because he had the skill. He sold more than one billion records and had 149 songs on Billboard’s top 100. People often forget that he also made 33 movies.
Norman Rockwell was hired as the art director for Boys’ Life magazine when he was still a teenager. His true to life covers for Post magazine touched us all. People who are at the top got there because they have a skill that was equaled by few others.
5. Uniqueness. Steven Spielberg said, “I dream for a living.” Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, Saving Private Ryan, all of these films took a very high degree of creativity. That’s what sets Spielberg apart from other directors; it’s his capacity for creative genius. Is it no wonder that he named his company DreamWorks? This was Hollywood’s first new studio in 75 years.
People who make it to the top have some unique quality that few others possess. It could be the way they talk, the way they dance, the way they lead a team, their imagination, their intelligence, their boldness. Few can write like Stephen King. Few could deliver a speech like Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton. Few can lead their people like Nelson Mandela.
Getting to the top means having a passion for something; realizing the importance of people in your life; having a clarity of speech and a clarity of direction; being exceptionally skillful and, as Sam Walton said, “You have to learn to swim up-stream,” or, the way I see it, you have to have something or do something that makes you unique.
All of these qualities are achievable but few can achieve them. Zig Zigler, public speaker and writer, closes his speeches by saying, “See you at the top.” If you do happen to get there, tell me how it feels.
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