Inspire Greatness

Mentors inspire greatness in students, who in turn inspire greatness in others.

What is greatness? This might be more easily understood by describing what it is not. It is not fame; it is not a position of leadership; it is not having your name written in history books.

Greatness is fulfilling your life’s mission. 

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” -Oscar Wilde

This is similar to the way the ancient Greeks saw genius. They believed that every person had a unique destiny or purpose in life. To aid in fulfilling this destiny a tutelary deity or spirit was assigned to each person. This spirit was called genius. It may be thought of as the personification of each person’s unique abilities, interests and mission.

Fulfilling your individual mission and magnifying your talents and abilities is what makes you great.

Greatness comes from within. No one can make another person great. It is an individual choice. Our purpose is to inspire choices of greatness and to provide the necessary mentoring for each individual to reach their potential, and live their mission.

"The price of greatness is responsibility." -Winston Churchill

Every mentor is pursuing the path of greatness and understands the power of example. Greatness is not a destination; it is a journey. Mentors inspire students to seek greatness by identifying their own missions. They understand their own unique abilities and strive to develop them so they can better assist their students. Mentors pay the price to achieve their own personal genius. As this occurs, they are in a position to inspire others.

Classics inspire. In addition to lecturing on facts, dates and theories, the mentor leads the class in discussions of great people and ideas. Inspiring students during class and in one-on-one meetings is how mentors lead. The students leave these sessions motivated and resolved to study harder and serve better.

As mentors inspire students through classical works, encouragement and example, a culture of seeking greatness develops and students begin to inspire each other. Arrogance on the part of the mentor or student destroys inspiration.

Mentors are flexible in adapting to the mission of each student. This does not lessen the academic rigor of any class or program. Since no one has a personal mission of mediocrity, individual adaptation increases academic rigor.

Rather than simply filling students with information, the mentor approaches the classics in a way that draws the best out of them. He acts, as Socrates described himself, as "a 'midwife' assisting the labor of the mind in bringing knowledge and wisdom to birth."

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