Fame or greatness?

"Not everyone can be famous but everyone can be great..."

~ Martin Luther King

I like this quote because it gives needed perspective to the ambitious personality.

We don't need to be famous to live a rich successful life if our goal is to be a better person.

We don't need to be seen and recognized by others to be satisfied that we're doing a good job, if that is what we're doing.

We don't need our name printed in the headlines to verify our worth and value if we measure worth spiritually.

We don't need to be remembered for assurance that our efforts bore fruit, if our efforts were unselfishly motivated.

Why?

Because we are who we are, and what we do is what matters most, not what others think or we think they ought to think.

Our greatness is not a function of fame, but of the love and truth we live and express.

One can have fame without greatness. But one who has achieved true greatness can easily live without fame.

Do you want to be great?

From a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr…. (click on link to hear him speak)

If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Amen) That’s a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen) You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen) You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant.

“He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Jesus Christ