Great People Are Made, Not Born

Spiderman, ladies and gentlemen, yes, I said Spiderman. Well, even this web slinging Marvel
super hero was stung by a spider and then became “your friendly neighbor spidey”. You may all
be wondering why I am talking about Spiderman and what he has to do with my topic. This is to
prove to you that even a super hero was made, not born a super hero. The truth is, no single
person in this entire world was born great, all of us here were made to be great by their own
effort. There is no such thing as a person who is genetically born great. If there was such a
person, ladies and gentlemen, I can guarantee you that it is purely a hoax.

And so I begin my topic for today with a warm good morning / afternoon to:

- the ever wise judges,

- the ever attentive time keeper,

- much appreciated special guests

- last but not least my great audience present here today.

“Great People Are Made, Not Born” is the topic of my speech today. First of all, the word ‘great’
figuratively means those who have achieved importance and recognition that are meaningful for
him, his family and the people around him. When people say, he is a born leader, do you
seriously believe it? I don’t and so comes my first argument.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I believe being passionate is not innate and so, great people are people who are passionate about
what they do. They take great pain and effort in making their dreams materialized. The base of
being passionate is to have an interest and enjoy what you do. These people took this point very
seriously and leaped forward to be acknowledged as great people. When there is no passion for
anything, thus there is no achievement. The most successful people in the world work day and
night to achieve what they want in life and this goes to show that they have passion.

Let’s take for example, Nelson Mandela. He is considered a hero in the hearts of not only
Africans but also worldwide, when he fought for the eradication of slavery and rebelled against
the Apartheid government at that era. He then became South Africa’s president from 1994 to
1999. Even though Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison and had to perform hard
labor at a lime quarry, his passion for fighting against the Apartheid government did not take a
break. He pushed through and worked from inside prison walls, which comes to show you how
passionate he was to fight for human rights and freedom. Now, that’s an evidence of a hero
made, not born.
Moving on to my next argument, my respected captive listeners,

Determination is also an added value that great people possess. The ‘never give up’ attitude of
these great people has taken them to a new height in their live. This is a vital quality in making
great personalities. When life is hard for them and it presents a mountain of challenges, their
pure determination keeps them going further. Determination is something that in nurtured
through hardships and hard hitting moments in life. One does not acquire determination as soon
as they are brought to earth, it comes as they build their character and find their true self. The
best instance that I could quote you for determination is Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc.
The best part about his success is that he was a college dropout from the Reed College in
Portland, Oregon.

Any other lowly motivated person would have just given up on life and strayed to a different
path but what Steve Jobs did was he took that as a challenge and continued manipulating with
electronic gadgets and finally has reached the epitome of success. He acquired this determination
through the ups and downs in his life after dropping out of college and working in several other
companies such as Atari and Next Computers. Imagine if he never carried on, would you or
anyone else in the world be holding an Ipad or an Iphone. Thus, determination has made him
truly a great person, and it is made, not born.

Ladies and gentlemen,

People say experience is the best teacher and it comes with age. I do feel the same. People who
have made it in life, i.e. the great people in our lives, have seen an immense amount of
experiences. These vast experiences are gained throughout their lives which means experiences
made great people. The point here is, they have learned from their experiences and used them to
forge ahead in life in order to achieve more. I have known so many people in this world who
have become heroes because of their experiences. One of such best examples is Tun Dr.
Mahathir Mohammad, our fourth prime minister. He is recognized as the father of modernization
of Malaysia. His experience in the political arena and excellent administration of its government
had brought this country to be a well-known nation in the eyes of the world. It is undeniable that
he is a great person in Malaysia. And remember, it was his vast experience that had made him
internationally recognized as the finest prime minister in this region at that era. Therefore, great
people are those who have immeasurable experiences. And, experience is not imbued, it is
acquired, thus, great people are made, not born.

All in all, I am standing right in front your eyes, here, today, to prove that great people are made,
not born. Great people are made great through their undying passion, pure determination, and
vast experiences. If we were to believe inborn qualities created great people, I bet you, we would
never see, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and Mother Theresa as successful as they are or were in
the eye of the world. With that in mind, everybody can be great with just a little more effort in
life. At this moment, I see the great people in you and me because I believe great people are
made, not born.

Thank you future great people here for lending me your ears.