{"id":309,"date":"2011-04-13T05:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T11:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/finally-i-can-be-great\/"},"modified":"2011-04-13T05:57:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-13T11:57:00","slug":"finally-i-can-be-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/finally-i-can-be-great\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally, I can be great"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I always had this belief that I would be\u00a0successful. <\/p>\n

Not to go all Freud on you, but this started with my mother, who instilled some big dreams in\u00a0my head as a lad.\u00a0She pushed me to memorize the math tables that swirled in my head. The B plus was a sign of failure. The second-place wasn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cYou can do better.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Doctor. <\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pilot.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scientist.
Any of those professions would be fine with her.<\/p>\n

But there were the realities. And they were biggies. I couldn\u2019t stand the sight of blood. I was color blind and could never fly. I couldn\u2019t figure out physics. <\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t ready to concede. After all, I wasn\u2019t normal like the other kids, or so I thought. Let\u2019s just say, I didn\u2019t have self-esteem issues.\u00a0\u00a0I swallowed a lot of that medicine, actually believing that I was above average, special, and skilled. <\/p>\n

I depended on my ability and was frustrated when I was told I \u201ccouldn\u2019t.\u201d So I began to pretend I was all of those things. Confidence is one thing, but pride is another. And it\u2019s a very\u00a0thin line to walk. <\/p>\n

Now, at this ripe middle age, I\u2019m at the point\u00a0where I\u2019m comfortable in my own skin. I laugh about my inabilities.\u00a0If my\u00a0abilities aren\u2019t so hot,\u00a0that\u2019s fine. But I still feel the fire to do something, to be somebody.<\/em>
But reading the red letters really tells me something. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be great<\/i><\/span>,\u201d He said. \u201cLearn to the be servant of all.<\/i><\/span>\u201c<\/p>\n

Now, I wanna be great, but in a different way. And that will chase away the negative frustrations and usher in joy.<\/p>\n

Care to comment? Click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Hooking up with Bonnie\u2019s Faith Jam<\/a> today, where she is talking about joy. This week, it\u2019s all about asking for it!<\/i><\/div>\n
\n\"Enhanced<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always had this belief that I would be\u00a0successful. Not to go all Freud on you, but this started with my mother, who instilled some big dreams in\u00a0my head as a lad.\u00a0She pushed me to memorize the math tables that swirled in my head. The B plus was a sign of failure. The second-place wasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,313,366,409,413,422,622,781],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ability","category-freud","category-greatness","category-how-to-be-great","category-humility","category-if-you-want-to-be-great","category-passion-for-living","category-servant-leadership"],"yoast_head":"\nFinally, I can be great<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I always had this belief that I would be\u00a0successful. 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