Yesterday I had an epiphany. I do sometimes have those.

I thought of all the famous people who have somehow made it. I thought of their journey. Then I had thought of mine. 

I wondered at what point had they discovered within themselves that they had arrived at their dream. When did it dawn on them that they were living their dreams?

When Did They Get There?

Was it when they got the first call? Or was it the second? For the striving musician, was it when they signed their first deal. Was it real then? Maybe it wasn’t confirmed until they heard their voice streaming from the radio. And I thought maybe for some, it wasn’t real until they saw their names written across their first headline. Could it have been their first check? Did it not happen until their ears opened to the mention of their name on someone else’s lips?

Where Does Greatness Begin

I posed the question to my husband, does a person become great, or do they first believe in their greatness, and the rest follows? 

Did Michael Jackson already see himself as the best before he was crowned so by public opinion? Did Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, or James Wheldon Johnson deem themselves prolific writers with their first works, or did it take hundreds? Rather did they still not see their greatness until the world turned and proclaimed so. 

Isn’t a proclamation a verification of what already is? 

This is what I came to reason About Getting There.

One must already believe in their greatness long before others, or the world could ever acknowledge so. Why? There can be no witness to something that is not already true. Validation from another doesn’t make something, so it confirms what already is. 

I thought of all the work I had put in. So many times, I told myself I was working towards something. I never entirely spoke in absolutes, but I was careful not to affirm a negative either. I pondered on the many times I would say I’m getting there. But the thing about that is I never set the marker for when I would know I was what I set out to become. 

A Personal Encounter: A Change of Perspective

I remember a conversation I had with someone discussing my work. As an artist of any form, you must realize your work is continuous. You must continue to evolve to grow and improve. So we discussed some things I could work on to improve my craft. Post discussion, I gave my contemporary my sincerest gratitude. I told her that every day I strive to be a great writer. She shocked me when she said you are already a great writer. I was taken aback. She saw in me something I had not yet seen in myself. 

Already There

I am no longer trying or working towards being a writer. I am a writer, a bonafide writer, and a journalist. Not only that, I’m already prolific and making an impact. I must continue to build off that recognition. Greatness does not mean the greatest. It certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t more to do or accomplish. It means I recognize who I am, the level of my skill, and the essence of my craft. I will use that knowledge to only make me that much greater. 

A Word To You

Before you can ever become something, you have to already believe you are. You must walk in, dwell in, wear, and speak it. 

I think of this quote attributed to Ray Charles,

“I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

Ray Charles

Others cannot believe something you have not yet believed about yourself.

I charge you today to look at everything you have done and are doing. Look at yourself clearly. Don’t short-change yourself because you haven’t yet received the confirmation from the masses. Believe in yourself enough to know who and what you are. You may discover you are already there. You will grow so much from that revelation you will find out you’re unstoppable. And watch what happens from then on!