When talent, genius, and education are not enough.

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than successful men of talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipresent. - Calvin Coolidge

After witnessing the Wimbledon win of Roger Federer yesterday, I found myself questioning what it is that separates the champions from the rest. Looking beyond the world-wide accolades of people who win major tournaments, what is it that makes people the champions of their own lives? How can I become someone who strives to be the best, even if it is only the best "me"?

No amount of planning and preparation, no amount of learning and intelligence has the ability to replace what essentially is that determination that pushes people over that threshold separating failure from success.

Aspiring to greatness is something that never ends, once making the decision to follow that path.

There have been countless numbers of people who have desired the rewards of the "winners", but few as determined, as resolved, who never falter in this will. These champions never leave their determination behind, through set-backs and voices of what "cannot be".

How willing are you to be like that?