If you try and fail. You can put it behind you. If you fail to try. That regret will last forever. Greatness will find you and all your hard work will pay off. Faith is a power tool which propels us towards success. We all have the capacity to be great, but we must decide to make the investment.

We point to others when we identify negative situations which pull us towards failure. But, I have learned that there is one of the major flaws in this philosophy. Others can impact us; however, that impact should be positive. If someone says you cannot do something it is pointless to stay battered by that opinion. To quote Rocky Balboa, “ Life will knock you down. No matter how tough you are. But, it’s about taking the punch and having the courage to get up. That is how winning is done.”

I am inspired each time someone tells me it is improbably for me to becoming a Foreign Service Officer for the US State Department. This is what helps me wake up at 6 a.m. to study Ukrainian and foreign policy after a tiresome workday which ended at 11 p.m. I am only held back by my acceptance of the notion that I cannot be great. Greatness is within us all, but it is come with a cost.

*These are the thoughts of Richard Roman and does not directly reflect the view of the Peace Corps or its affiliates.