‘When the moment comes – when we’re afraid, exhausted, or
tempted – what choice do we make? Do we abandon our values? Do we give in? Do
we accept average performance because that’s what most everyone else accepts?
Do we capitulate to the pressure of the moment? Do we give up on our dreams
when we’ve been slammed by brutal facts?
What is clear about
great leaders is that they care as much about values as victory, as much about
purpose as profit, as much about being useful as being successful. Their drive
and standards are ultimately internal, rising from somewhere deep inside.
We are not imprisoned by our circumstances. We are not
imprisoned by the luck we get or the inherent unfairness of life. We are not
imprisoned by crushing setbacks, self-inflicted mistakes or our past success.
We are not imprisoned by the times in which we live, by the number of hours in
a day or even the number of hours we’ve granted in our very short lives. In the
end, we can only control a tiny sliver of what happens to us. But even so, we are free to choose, free to become great
by choice.’
Jim Collins & Morten
Hansen
