Greatness is not the domain of a few

This month we honor the birth, life, legacy and Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

One of the wisest and most inspirational words (and ideas) that Dr. King both communicated, and fervently embodied, was the concept of true greatness.

Greatness is not the domain of a few, he argued.

“Everyone can be great", he said, "because anybody can serve.”

What an elegantly simple but thunderously powerful message!

I can almost hear him adding a corollary to that maxim, wholeheartedly embracing the idea of entrepreneurship:

Anyone can be an entrepreneur, I imagine him uttering.

and...

Entrepreneurs can be great by truly serving others.

I can testify that this idea transformed my personal understanding of my duty in life, and illuminated every aspect of my understanding of business. It is the bedrock of everything we do at Accelerate South Dade and at NANA.

And clutching this idea close to our breast, the fundamental question is decidedly NOT:

How can we make more money, but, how can we be of even higher service?

How might we add more lasting value to the lives of those we serve?

And one more thing…

We don’t often think of Dr. King as an entrepreneur, but I think that, in many ways, he was a marvelous exemplar of a truly great entrepreneur.

I ask you: was he not at all times in pursuit of possibilities beyond the resources he controlled?

And are we not profiting today because that Great Man lived, and dared to Dream?