"Examine yourselves, let each of you discover where your true chance of greatness lies....Seize this chance, rejoice in it, and let no power or persuasion deter you in your task."  from Chariots of Fire

Most of us want to accomplish great things, and the possibilities are as unique and infinite as the personalities that surround us.  I have often felt like an outsider who just could not feel at home on the path and future my family, peers and community seemed to expect of me.  In my teens I was given the opportunity to step outside of that box of expectations when I spent my 16th year in Australia as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student.  The experience changed me.  The challenge became holding on to that passion and vision of accomplishing something more once I returned to the everyday world most of us carve our lives from.

For years stories in the paper, on the news or in an alumni newsletter left me feeling that I missed my opportunity to do great things in the world and make a difference.  The problem was not that I had lost the opportunities, the problem was that I was not paying attention.  I had missed seeing the impact I had on my family, the kids I worked with or the people I came in contact with each day.  Somewhere over the years I forgot that the opportunity to create that "Greatness" was inside me as much as it was inside the people I read about. 

Everest is a mountain, the English Channel is a swim, and Ironman is an event.  Places and pursuits come alive with potential from the passion behind the human endeavor each of us applies to them.

Hillary and Norgay did not create a legacy when they stood on the summit of Everest.  They achieved a legacy of greatness from how they climbed and what they did after they stood there.