Greatness For The Taking

I am so blessed to share my life with an incredible group of close friends and family as well as supportive colleagues and even positive acquaintances. Most of the people I associate with I not only care about but admire. Some of them I even consider "great." They may not consider themselves that way, but per my definition of greatness they are truly legendary.
I find the people I have the most respect for are those who have had to fight for their lot in life; people who've had life sucker punch them to their knees and yet somehow they mustered up the courage to get back up as if saying "is that all you've got?"
I've got friends like my cousin Carmen, who as a teenage mother decided she would take responsibility for herself and become the kind of woman and mother worthy of respect. Not only is she a college graduate today, but a loving mother and wife, and successful businesswoman. She is active in her church and community supporting those who are where she once was; giving strength and a voice to the weak and voiceless.
I know people like the current mayor of the city I grew up in and my former classmate, Dan Rivera. He is a tireless community organizer. As a young boy and son of an immigrant mother living in the same ghetto environment I did, he was always the guy you could count on to pat you on the back on a tough day and greet you with a smile everyday. He is a veteran and a family man and I have never known a more deserving human being to hold political office. He is my hero.
I know a friend named Kat who as one of my soldiers held onto a secret which ate at him every moment of ever day. You see Kat had always been a transgendered man. During his time in the Army, he served under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy which kept him and many others whose gender identity was different than the "norm" living double lives as they served their country. That policy is now a thing of the past and Kat recently came out. He left service a few years back to follow his civilian goals but we have always stayed friend. He's had a loving and supportive family and group of friends around him all this time, but he felt the need to finally just throw it out there so he could finally just be him. What courage.
Finally my friend Scott Proposki. He too was a high school classmate. He is possibly the most traditionally successful person I personally know. Like many of my fellow high school classmates, he dreamed of making it out of the confines of a small industrial city which had seen better days. He dreamed big, of following his passion for photography. Today he owns a multi-million dollar photography and media business contracted by major brands all over the country yet he's always the first with a kind word for a fellow classmate.
These are just a few random names on my friends' list on Facebook. I could go on and on gushing about how amazing my friends and family are. My friend Kathy who was a single mother and soldier doing her best to be the best mom possible to two little girls even while deploying to dangerzones around the world, and her husband Sam who fell in love with her and her children choosing to be a supporting husband and father. Or my friend Will, a Marine Corps officer who had multiple white-collar options upon retirement, but instead chose to follow his passion and drive long-haul trucks. He's living his boyhood dream. That's not what responsible adults do, is it? No wonder I always feel inspired.
I think as I look across the spectrum of my friends and family and what makes so many of them great, it is simply their desire to reach past where others wouldn't and do things others won't. Greatness takes focus and it takes "action." We're all dreamers, but great people know dreaming isn't enough. Without action, dreams are just fantasies in our mind. This is the great secret to success, action.
I'm honored and humbled to be surrounded by such incredible people. If you're reading this, chances are you too have inspired me with you greatness and for that, I thank you.