Mike – I agree on one hand and disagree on the other.
I do think greatness is partly about mind-set, a narrow focus, willingness to commit, desire to forsake all else for an achievement, etc.
BUT… Nobody will be great in an area in which they don’t have talent. I, for instance, will never be a 10.00 100m runner. No matter how badly I wanted it, how much PED I took, how hard I trained. Would just never get there.
I think the secret is finding the area (in life and in sports) where one has the most potential/talent and then committing to greatness there.
And the other key is realizing that greatness for one is different than greatness for another – it is about utilization of potential as well as greatness relative to the rest of the world.