Geoffrey Colvin, senior-editor-at-large for Fortune magazine wrote an article back in 2006 entitled “What it takes to be great.” He looked at figures like Warren Buffet and other exceptional individuals in their respective professions.

He wrote: “What made Berkshire Hathaway (Charts) Chairman Warren Buffet the world’s premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what the ended up doing. As Buffet told Fortune not long ago, he was “wired at birth to allocate capital.” It’s a one-in-a-million thing. You’ve got it-or you don’t…

Well folks, it’s not so simple. For one thing, you do NOT possess a natural gift for a certain job, because talented natural gifts don’t exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful. Buffet, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets.

The good news is THAT YOUR NATURAL GIFT IS IRRELEVANT-TALENT HAS LITTLE OR NOTHING TO DO WITH GREATNESS. YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF INTO ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, AND YOU CAN EVEN MAKE YOURSELF GREAT…THE FIRST MAJOR CONCLUSION IS THAT NOBODY IS GREAT WITHOUT WORK…The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast of fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life’s inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren’t gifted and give up. Maybe we can’t expect most people to achieve greatness. It’s just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn’t reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.”

As you’ve heard in our seminars, webinars and other events, real estate is hard. But you can do it! Yes the road will be long, painful and you’ll want to quit. But if you stick to it, you can do some great things; you can fulfill your soul purpose!