This is it, baby — fact #1, the paramount fact, the primary impulse. And what is it? Why, it’s simple.

Reach your own self-described level of grandeur.

It’s time to step up to the dais. It’s time to mount those stairs and receive one’s award.

Life is a rich and varied panoply of experiences, and it matters how you play the game. With an eye to the ultimate self-elevation, you can be sure you will be remembered like Caesar or Hitler — beings who strode through the corridors of time to leave their mark immortally.

When you reach your own self-described level of grandeur, you are maxing out your potential and walking backward to the finish line. Gazing at the stadium rank upon rank of viewers, you thrill to the power of the moment, savoring the soft warm winds on your cheek.

Grandeur. What does it mean? An ocean has grandeur. A mountain range has grandeur. A single snowflake may be beautiful but it lacks grandeur. Now do you see?

If you have it in you to be superior, to rest easy on your laurels, you can make your stand in the field of statues that represents time’s frozen men.

If you can see the future and grasp it you can make it wholly your own.

If you are willing to battle in the Arena of Champions against like-minded men — and the losers who have the helms of great nations, armed against you — you will discover what you’re truly made of. This exultation comes without cost and is pain-free.

The roads to get there are like highways: broad and expansive. And each route is original!

The ways and byways of grandeur are many. Some achieve grandeur through literature. (Shakespeare.) Some dominate the world of grandeur through their music. (Elvis.) Some choose politics, putting down the artist’s brush (Hitler) while others eschew the life of their capital city (Rome) to emerge as a name meaning ruler (Caesar).

*taking in a deep, cleansing breath*

You cannot take breaks or rest. You cannot wilt away from the challenges. You must be strong. There are many obstacles to overcome, lots of dreams of other men to be dashed. Yes, you’ll be dashing the dreams of others; weaker beings who cannot stand the full glare of the sunshine. The dominance is part of the dream.

At the summit of grandeur, there can only be one, ultimately. And if that one isn’t you, there’s no shame — as long as you find yourself somewhere up on that peak.