Creating role models
What do Giannis, Maria, Lefteris and Emmanouil have in common?
Welcome to the final issue of Changing Greece for this year!
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Today, we will talk about role models.
🏅Creating role models
Greece is in terrible need of role models.
People who can inspire the country, redefine our present, expand the realm of possible, usher in a better future. People who can act as beacons of hope.
We need examples we can aspire to. Who are they and how can we find more of them?
What do Giannis, Maria, Lefteris and Emmanouil have in common?
Giannis Antetokounmpo (aka the Greek Freak), widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Maria Sakkari (aka the Spartan Queen), the highest-ranked Greek woman tennis player in history. Lefteris Petrounias (aka the Lord of the Rings), the artistic gymnast Olympic champion and three-time world champion. Emmanouil Karalis (aka Flying Manolo), the young Greek national pole vaulting champion.
What do all four of them have in common?
The obvious part: they are all amazing athletes. Each of them is undoubtedly the best that Greece has to offer in their respective sports category — some are also at the top of the world ladder, one even at history-defining levels.
The less obvious part: they are all amazing human beings. Each of them in their own distinct light, and yet all connected by a strong and bright moral compass that keeps glowing in everything that they do.
“How do you know?”, one might ask. “And why did you choose these specific individuals rather than any other great Greek athlete?” Great questions.
Firstly, I have followed these specific athletes closely through the years, observing their feats both in and out of court. Moreover, I have heard stories from people who know them or have met with them at different stages in their lives. Finally, and crucially, I have actually witnessed all of their behavior personally in random chance encounters during the past years.
Giannis exemplifies the very definition of commitment, determination, excellence and absolute humility. It is the last part that I find so unique in him, despite his overwhelming success. An icon of global proportions with very tough beginnings that always remains humble to the bone.
Maria is a genuinely kind person and an unbelievable hard worker. Extremely down to earth, impressively honest and unapologetically true to herself. Maria is setting an example for thousands of young girls in Greece and beyond.
Lefteris is unbelievably caring and principled. His dedication to his sport and true love for representing his country are a very rare combination. He has always stood up courageously for the needs of his peers and talked about difficulties to athleticism in Greece. Lefteris is also an unbelievably wholesome person.
Emmanouil is a deeply courteous and polite young lad. He is larger than life and has an infectious smile no matter the circumstances. He overcame both a tough injury and widespread racism in his early years — and yet he continues unfazed to new heights.
All four of them combine excellence with ethos. They worked tremendously hard, often against all odds and with little help other than from their direct environment or someone who just “took a chance” on them.
All four of them understand that Rome was not build in a day. They know that it takes time, patience, hard work, sweat, tears, sacrifices, and even more sacrifices to win. It takes even more of all that to eventually become the best. After all, this is the true essence of competitive sports.
All four of them know that you have to believe in yourself when nobody else does, but that it also takes others believing in you when you yourself might be low on self-esteem. Sometimes it takes just one person, other times it takes a village.
All four of them are Great Athletes. But what really makes them stand apart is that they are all Great People too.
What kind of role models do we want?
Today we tend to talk a lot about “influencers” but little about role models.
Thanks to platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, everyone is (or can be) an influencer today, typically promoting a product, service or lifestyle in exchange for direct/indirect monetary compensation or clout. And yet, despite having so many “influencers”, we find surprisingly few role models to hold on to.
This is especially true in Greek society today. We either promote ridiculous celebrities of little actual consequence, or tend to talk down anyone successful enough because we simply cannot have any of that.
The (in)famous Greek saying of “letting our neighbor’s goat die” is not a coincidence. It is the reverse psychology of what made “the American dream” possible that permeates Greek society today: we prefer to create a race to the bottom rather than enabling a path to the top for all.
We need to change that. And we need more role models to achieve that.
How do the role models we want look like? Here are a few examples:
Entrepreneurs who might fail once, twice, etc. but stand up and keep trying again and again until they succeed.
Artists who transcend the boring similarities of our overly mimetic copy-pasta culture and usher in new paradigms of art.
Athletes who achieve astonishing results while remaining exceptional human beings and influence entire generations with their feats.
Experts who have excelled in their professions and share their learnings with juniors, transferring both knowledge and intuition into a new class of artisans.
Educators who inspire their students to learn, take pride in their work and become effective members of civil society.
Politicians who put country above party, can inspire change and take hard decisions for the greater good.
Finding people who are fit to be role models is only part of the equation. Another part is making sure that we support, promote and embrace them.
A big thank you and a public plea
I want to end this year with an enormous thank you.
Gianni, Emmanouil, Lefteri, Maria — thank you for being exceptional role models.
It is not your success that defines who you are. It is who you are despite your very success. We appreciate you dearly (and yet, perhaps not nearly enough).
And now for my public plea:
Let us build more Greek role models like Giannis, Emmanouil, Lefteris, Maria. Not just in sports but across all disciplines and walks of life.
How do we build more and better role models?
Start inwards, then move outwards.
We should begin by setting the best example we can for ourselves; then, make sure to support others to become their own best versions of themselves.
In some way or another, we are all role models. We are parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, leaders, managers, mentors, friends. It does not matter if your nucleus of influence is small or large — your efforts still matter.
Changing Greece requires both a collective call to action and individual effort.
So, what’s my wish for 2024?
Show gratitude. Invest in yourself and in others. Find good mentors and be one yourself. Seek excellence and reward it when you find it. Don’t expect things to happen, make them happen. Lead gracefully. Share in your wins. Pay it forward.
And when you notice something unique either in yourself or in others, grab onto it and do not let go.
Happy New Year everyone!
📝 A year (of writing) in review
A total of 12 posts (including today’s) have been published this year. You can find them all here:
Changing Greece
The Greek AirBnB discussion (with
)Greek stock market greens (with
)Changing Greece (newsletter announcement)
Other articles
👀 Sneak Peak into 2024
Remember this tweet from last year?
Let’s just say I have not forgotten about it — at all.
If you reached out back then, your interest has been noted. More on this soon.
Until next time!
Another great thoughtful piece with a central question. Where are the role models?
I wonder if we're able to identify them if they're not behind a screen (TV, YT, IG...etc.)? Are we able to accept what distinguishes them and avoid tearing them down at the first misstep? You wisely mention entrepreneurs and failure. I don't think our society can comprehend what makes a person a role-model and how that might even include failure (past and future). I hope I'm wrong, because there are many around us worthy of being role-models. People with accomplishments, empathy, and willingness to give a hand and pull others to the top...