What do you think of when you hear the word elite?  If you are a sports fan, a specific athlete may come to mind and there is a certain amount of pride in having an elite player on your team.  For many years we have been told that Wheaties™ is the “breakfast of champions”, the message obviously implying that you can be like an elite athlete if you eat your Wheaties.  The sports world in general loves to debate over who the “most elite” athlete is at any given time in their particular sport.  While this is a fun topic, that is not the true premise of my thought.

Outside of the sports world, the word elite has essentially become a “four letter” word.    I recall when President Obama was first elected, he was referred to as an elitist.  One thing that makes that statement so interesting is the word elite is not a word that had been readily used when describing minorities in general and particularly has not traditionally described our role in politics.  What became apparent politically is that “tag” was not going to stick because of my ultimate premise surrounding that word, as how we normally view it.  This is not meant to be a defense of Obama or his Administration but it’s my opinion, when people have been tagged as an elitist, what they are really being called is the four letter word “snob”.

Most people envy the jock, the smartest person in the room and the beauty queen, but those three people are most loved when they are humble.  When you are the best at something and people still want to share your company that is a form of true greatness or being elite.  I think of Neil Degrasse Tyson, the man is brilliant and has probably forgotten more about science than most of us have ever learned, however, if you love learning, who wouldn’t want to be around him, for even just a little while.  As intelligent as he is, he is equally and extremely relatable.  That factor, being able to easily relate to others is a key component in being an elite person.

Anyone can be a snob.  All that’s required is a false sense of entitlement and privilege.  The only place those two things need to exist to produce a snob are in the snobs mind!  It does not require any special talent to be a snob.  Being elite encompasses many things most of which are intangible.  We may not always be able to quantify it but we know it when we see it.

The best modern example of a true elitist also happens to be the most famous athlete of all time,  Muhammad Ali.  (Side note: My claim of him being the most famous is based on his worldwide fame and admiration that was equal to or greater than Michael Jordan or Lebron James, while not having the benefit of cable or the internet during his prime.)  Ali certainly wasn’t shy about his skills in the ring and he let everyone know.  With such braggadocious antics, why isn’t he considered a snob?  The answer is simple, there was Ali the boxer, then there was Ali the man.  While no human being is perfect, by all accounts he was a lovable man, in every other aspect of his life.

When true elitism is present it’s easy to distinguish between someone that’s cocky versus someone that’s confident.  True confidence comes from understanding who you are and knowing your purpose.  By cultivating yourself and pruning the “real you”, the idea of needing to come across as more important than you are is non-existent.  When you know who you are and you know your self-worth being elite stops becoming what you are and truly becomes who you are and there is nothing snobbish about that!