What Makes the Great Great: Strategies for Extraordinary Achievement - Hardcover

Kimbro, Dennis Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 038548268X ISBN 13: 9780385482684

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1996

Synopsis

Offers profiles of America's top executives and shows African Americans how to develop qualities to get to the top

About this title

About the Author

Dennis P. Kimbro, Ph.D., is the author of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice and Daily Motivations for African-American Success. A tireless educator, public speaker, and business consultant, he has written for many newspapers and magazines and has made many appearances ranging from the "Today" show to a PBS special. Dr. Kimbro is a professor at Clark Atlanta University School of Business. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and three daughters.

From the Back Cover

t Makes the Great Great, Dennis Kimbro, author of the bestselling Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice, introduces inspiring people who have achieved greatness in their own unique way, then highlights those qualities each of us must develop before we reach our full potential. Regardless of how you define greatness--whether it's success in business or in pursuing a personal goal--this book provides a proven approach to turning your dreams into reality.

Part pep rally, part how-to book, What Makes the Great Great combines practical advice with pearls of wisdom from some of today's most successful African Americans, including John H. Johnson,  publisher of Ebony magazine; Condoleeza Rice, provost of Stanford University; and Ann Fudge, president of Maxwell House Coffee.

Through dozens of interviews and inspirational stories, Dr. Kimbro outlines the nine strategies that determine success. Greatness is guaranteed when you disc

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What Makes Great Great

By Dennis Kimbro

Doubleday

Copyright © 1996 Dennis Kimbro
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780385482684
There is a quality of personality that many successful people share.  No matter how they may differ, there is an attitude a quiet assurance based on self-knowledge, that says in effect: "I've been tried in some tough situations, and I've passed the test.  I know who I am. " The successful share a special power.  They conduct their affairs with a sense of purpose.  Their priorities are clear and they orchestrate the events of their lives with a masterful touch.  High achievers move smoothly from one phase of their lives to the next. No motion is wasted.

In the ancient African tradition of sharing oral history, the great told vivid examples of greatness to which future generations could aspire.  They demonstrated the attributes that make men and women heroic.  In other words, what makes the  great  great.  

There is a condition or circumstance that has greater bearing upon the happiness of life than any other.  What is it? It is one of the most common things in the world and within your reach.  If this secret were for sale, oh, how rich you would be! A sunken ship, a buried treasure, an unsolved mystery. Why are these objects so appealing? Because within you is an innate desire to solve the mystery that leads to your own personal hidden treasure.  Only the wise can guess its contents.  Some might say it is health, or money, or special relationships--but you may possess all of these and still not be content.  You may have fame and fortune and yet allow happiness to elude your grasp.  Yes, there is one thing more necessary to a happy, fulfilling life than any other What is it? What makes the great great?

This secret of wealth and success has remained hidden for thousands of years.  Since time began, humanity has searched--mostly in vain--for this precious key.  It has been found, only to be lost again, scores of times.  The prophets and mystics of all races have had some inkling of its great powers. Every race, group, and culture has had its wise men and philosophers, its men and women of genius and vision who glimpsed the truth that is buried in the spirit.  But it remains for those who possess an open heart and an open mind to discover this great truth in its entirety and then to demonstrate to others how they might use it to their benefit.  Make no mistake about it: The accomplishments of a few can be achieved by you whenand only when, you are ready! It stands to reason that in His name,"The things I do shall ye do also, and greater things than these shall ye do. "

What makes the great great? The question was placed before Percy Sutton, owner of New York's famed Apollo Theater.  Here is a man who is clearly in charge of the direction of his affairs; an individual who was raised to see himself as one of those blacks whose accomplishments would become symbolic beacons lighting the path for those of his race.  He counseled, "lf you have but one wish, let it be for an idea. "

What makes the great great? Have you found the key? Try asking Robert E. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, the only black-owned nationwide cable system.  Who would know better than he? Johnson is a man whose hopes and dreams have been singed, but he rose again and again to see another day. "Life is a grindstone," he flatly states. "But whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends upon what you are made of. " The Reverend Jesse Jackson concurs.  He spoke openly and honestly regarding success and achievement: "You may not be responsible for getting knocked down, but you're certainly responsible for getting back up!"

When the annals of black business history are written, Henry Parks and the Parks Sausage Company will likely be listed as major contributors.  To Black America, Parks was a legend, a model of self-initiative and fierce racial pride.  Starting with "every nickel I could scrape together," he launched a shoestring operation--grinding out sausage in a converted Baltimore dairy.  He couldn't possibly succeed, but he did! At last count, Parks Sausage had more than $20 million a year in sales.  Without hesitation, he stood to make his point. "ln one hand I have a dream, and in the other I have an obstacle.  Tell me, which one grabs your attention?"

No barrier could be erected to shut out Patti LaBelle's voice; she believes she was made for the place that she fills.  When asked for the secret, LaBelle recalled her father's advice.  Since her childhood she could never be caught without a song in her heart or a melody on her lips.

"'Sing loud!' my father always told me,'just in case someone is listening.'" Talent helps, but greatness has more in common with nerve than it ever will with ability.

What a great lesson Reverend Ike taught his race on that hard, dusty Central Park bench! Toiling in the face of poverty since leaving his native South Carolina, for three months Frederick Eikerenkoetter--Reverend Ike--ate dog food out of cans while reading his Bible and planning for better days.  He delved into the book to precious pearls.  He prayed, not to base more, but to be more; not for fame, but to be transformed. Now, for more than twenty years, his name has been synonymous with spirituality and prosperity.  I asked him for the key to greatness, and he took me off in a totally different direction. "Open up a can!" he suggested. "The world belongs to those who say I can."

What makes the great great? When asked, Mae Jemison, America's first black female astronaut, was a bit philosophical, choosing just the right metaphor to convey her point. "Greatness can be captured in one word: lifestyle.  Life is God's gift to you, style is what you make of it." George Halsey maintained a coiled intensity ready to spring into action.  A former insurance clerk who now holds the highest pin Amway has to offer, Halsey rendered his thoughts: ."Learn to meet hard times with a harder will.  If you'll work two years of your life like others won't, you'll spend the rest of your life like others can't."

You can judge how great a people will become by examining the quality of the relationships between its males and its women and children.  By this measure alone, a people will either rise or fall.  This is the test that predicts fame and fortune.  What makes the great great? Few people are as qualified as Dr. Alvin Poussaint to discuss the great spirit of the black struggle in America.  One of eight children, this noted psychiatrist inherited no opportunities and acquired nothing by luck.  His good fortune consisted of untiring perseverance, an acumen for science and medicine, and the Old Testament taught by loving parents who dared to venture past the tenth grade. Dr. Poussaint peered through the window of his Harvard office and established a point of reference. "Morality and values begin at home.  If Black America is to continue its greatness, it must take care of its children."

Quincy Jones struck the same note: "Greatness occurs when your children love you, when your critics respect you, and when you have peace of mind." For more than forty years, he has built a remarkable career as a musician, composer, television and film producer, and multimedia entrepreneur.  His name is synonymous with talent and genius.

Cornell West, the best-selling author and college professor, when asked for the root of greatness, repeated the question, paused for a moment, and answered in the manner of a man close to his God: "lf you want to be great, you must serve willingly and love greatly."

Oseola McCarty's lined, brown hands, now gnarled with arthritis, bear mute testimony to a lifetime spent washing and ironing other people's clothes.  Less evident is how this quiet, eighty-seven-year-old black woman managed to donate $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi--a school she could never attend.  Though faced with poverty and ignorance, she never backed down. "They used to not let colored people go to school there, but now they do, and I think they should have the money." What makes the great great? This tiny, gentle woman replied in a barely audible tone: "Do as much as you can for as many as you can." Now McCarty has left a name that can never die.

It's not what the successful do, but what their lives promise, that gives hope to our race.  Ann Fudge's family is the passion of her life.  As the highest-ranking black woman in corporate America, she stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best and the brightest Wall Street has ever produced.  Without batting an eye, Fudge reveals the source of her strength, demonstrating that she is in full possession of the secret.  According to this powerhouse, if you're searching for greatness, look no further than your own home. "The first real test of leadership," she says, "is maintenance of the family unit."

Captain Bill Pinkney speaks of faith. "Everyone fears something.  Though worry and trepidation may crowd your thoughts, there's always room for faith.  So if you attempt something great and you find your knees shaking, try kneeling on them." Death wins no victory over such men.

Wbat makes the great great? Do you know? The overwhelming majority will never recognize the difference between greatness and mediocrity, between happiness and pleasure.  They will never sense true fulfillment, nor will they awaken to their highest potential.  Greatness is a mosaic composed of very small stones.  Each taken by itself may be of little value.  But when grouped together, combined, and set, they form a true work of art--the hallmark of achievement.  Nine stones, or mental strategies, underlie all success and accomplishment,--all greatness.  (These stones of greatness, to which I refer, can be found within each chapter of this book. ) Fulfillment and personal development come as a result of relating and applying each of these strategies, which in turn will draw you closer to your destiny.  A destiny that you control.

Continues...

Excerpted from What Makes Great Great by Dennis Kimbro Copyright © 1996 by Dennis Kimbro. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 038548268X
• ISBN 13: 9780385482684
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 324