A word of caution, ideas of lifting one self up to some superior position are always fraudulent, and always aimed at people suffering a terrible poverty of mind.

The whatever leaders that present a shortcut to self betterment are both actors and criminals.

There are no shortcuts to greatness, just like there are no shortcuts to growing up.

In fact the definition of greatness, is simply growing all the way up.

A set of lectures on the subject is merely a way to sell you an impression of greatness, the real thing cannot be bought.

Today greatness arises from authentic friendships across time, with all the world’s greatest thinkers.

A friendship with the author of a book you are reading, is the only way to properly understand it.

And in befriending a Philosopher, and thus understanding their way of thinking, you cannot help but to pick up the best parts of their culture.

This is a unique time in Human History, Schools are not working, and we can’t be certain if they ever really worked, or if students were always just forced into pretending.

Using money as the prime mover of everything, time and again, seems to be causing economic failures, and taking us back to war.

Most importantly, infective schools are failing to lift communities all around the world to higher cultures.

Despite what standardized education teachers are saying, a teacher is in fact a kind of a parent, and certainly a guardian.

Cultures that push children into uneducation, crime, addiction, violence, indoctrination and servitude, can be corrected with inspiring and effective schools.

However, today we see that High School and College can often fracture children into addiction, and they certainly push them into poverty.

Not only by taking every penny they have, but also, every penny they can get via student loan programs, programs that cannot be forgiven by bankruptcy.

Finally, Culture of Greatness is a super-culture, that extends invitation to all.

It is a culture of greatness of heart, of greatness of mind, of great class, of clear thinking, of knowledge and resulting wisdom, and transcendence of our own limits.

It is a culture of leaving behind bad ideas, and avoiding the repetition of mistakes.

The culture of Greatness, extends all other cultures, into standing up for goodness, for Human rights, equality, and world peace.

It helps the children that we are ailing to protect, to independently discover their own meaning by walking into the philosophy section of the local library, and not leaving until all is light.

The finest way to begin, is by making use of the unusual invention of narrated books.

They are no doubt shamed, and looked down upon by bullies, but they are in fact music to our ears.

And libraries will fight tooth and nail, to make them available free of charge.

Two staring points come to mind, the beautiful Story Of Philosophy by Will Durant.

And the overwhelmingly fascinating Giants Of Philosophy, wonderfully voiced by Charlton Heston.

These two works represent an introduction to many great beings, they are an easy start of a quest that is sure to take an entire lifetime.

Be messy when listening and re-listening your philosophy books, back a backpack, live in a tent for a while, even if it is your own backyard.

Know that every great being that has chosen to share, thought about you, cared about you, and saw you as hope and dream.

In their weakness, out on the edges of their limits, they trusted in your strengths to understand and rise to stand on their shoulders.

Whoever you are, no mater how bad it gets, make sure that the philosophy books are playing in your headphones.

They will heal you, replenish you, protect you, and gently and privately, bring you into the culture of greatness.