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No GREAT fortress was ever built without a SOLID FOUNDATION

The difference between the Amateur and

the Master is their mastery of the basics

Destin

PRINCIPLES OF GREATNESS: 

Build a SOLID FOUNDATION

By Destin 

One of the wealthiest people I have ever met, taught me a principle that will stay with me for the rest of my life he said:

“ Create a Solid Foundation,… And then Build from it “

For confidentiality reasons, I can’t use his real name in this article, so I’ll use imaginary names for him and his business. Let’s call this incredible person David. And let's call his business TechIT.

David is quite a remarkable guy. Together with a partner he founded a company called TechIT. Within a 7 year period they grew their business from a start-up to a business with a turnover of a couple of hundred million a year. Their company became one of the premier IT hardware distributors in the country. And one of their core and guiding principles was, first create the solid foundation.

When you visit TechIT you see this principle in evidence everywhere. Firstly as a general rule, they don’t employ sales staff that don’t have some form of marketing or sales degree. They also are very selective of the caliber, both intellectually and technically, of their sales staff. It is a well-known fact that TechIT has by far the best sales expertise in the industry; because their staff are selected and trained in the fundamentals.

When you move across to their technical division you find a similar mindset. Technicians are either groomed into positions or are recruited based on talent and potential. All technicians are analyzed to determine their strengths and weaknesses and then taken through a gradual process of development until they become the kind of people that deserve better positions. Every step of the process is carried out in such a way that the technician first builds a solid foundation on their current level before they move to the next level.

This philosophy is one of the guiding principles of TechIT and one of the reasons why the company’s founders have become extremely wealthy men.

POWER Word

Maestro: A consummate master.

i.e. A person who has become a master of all of the basics. 

A person who has mastered every aspect of something

We also find this principle in evidence in other great achievers. The Great musician Frédéric Chopin (left) is believed by many people to be the greatest musical composer of all time. But what is really remarkable about Chopin is his discipline and keen attention to important details and musical fundamentals.

For instance in music a device called a metronome (right) is used to keep a musicians timing accurate and in time with the beat. Most musician’s hate playing with a metronome, because of the discipline it forces one to have. Yet Chopin never played without a metronome. 

Another example is Chopin’s Etudes. The French word Etude means study. An Etude is a piece of music that was written in order to teach the student how to master a particular aspect of playing a musical instrument. Etudes were mostly used to improve playing technique (i.e. Fundamentals). Chopin composed and published 27 Etudes. Some of these Etudes are among the most difficult pieces of music ever written. Yet every one of them is beautiful to listen to. Chopin didn’t just focus on the fundamentals of playing correctly, but also the fundamentals of making music.

There are many many other examples of the importance of fundamentals to achievement. Leonardo Da Vinci studied under one of the greatest artists of his day who tutored him in all of the basic artistic techniques of the time. Ghandi studied Law in England. Bill Gates built a thriving business selling Microsoft BASIC long before he even thought of DOS.

And so it is with all greatness. It is said that no tree can grow Greater than the Strength of its roots. There are no shortcuts to extraordinary achievement. And that is what David taught me, greatness will only stand if it is built on a Solid Foundation.

In Everything Truth, Faith & Love

Destin

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