Need to be Great

Who am I? What do I do? I live half within you, half beyond you. The part of me that is in you occupies what people call the unconscious. From here, I speak to you. I send you messages. These messages you think of as ideas, impulses. I make suggestions to you. You choose to follow or ignore them. I advise you. You decide whether you like my advice or not.

In addition, I exist beyond you, in the world around you. I am in the people you meet. I am in the celebrities you hear about. I am in books you read and music you enjoy. I am in plant and animal life. From all around you, I send you messages. I show you different styles of living, different ways to conduct yourself. I bring you new things to look at, new things to admire - things you might even want for yourself.

An ideal

Everything you do, every word you speak, starts with a thought. This thought is a force. It has a power to make you act in a certain way. Even those thoughts that do not result in action, thoughts that just pass through your head, have an importance. They affect your personality in subtle but crucial ways.

What provokes such thoughts? There are a few such motivating forces. I am one of them.

Pictures

My job is to draw pictures in your mind. These pictures combine to form a portrait, a model of the person you want to be. You travel through life, and you collect such pictures. Step by step, you develop an image of an ideal person living in an ideal world. The values and goals of this image, of this model, are values and goals you need. They are the building blocks of your ideal. Introducing you to these values and goals is my job.

For instance as a young child, you see a firefighter. He sports shiny boots and yellow helmet. Expertly, he kills a roaring fire.

This sight inspires you. For days afterwards, you play 'firefighter'. You destroy great infernos. You boldly save lives. This game, this fantasy is my work. Here I introduce you to qualities such as Bravery, Skill, Public service, etc.

Then, as you mature, I shuffle these pictures. I show you heroes who are more complex, more rounded, more human. I mix for you the features of a number of people - the competence of one colleague, the friendliness of another, the stamina of a favored sportsman, the appeal of a special teacher, the wealth of a top broker, the glamour of a famous artist.

To this, I add historical and even fictional personalities. I spice your view with insights from the natural world. The strength of the lion stirs you. The grace of the deer intrigues you. The beauty of a flower, the calm of a forest, the power of a storm, all enchant you.