Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.-Mark Twain
This is some very good advice.
The best way to achieve your goals is to surround yourself with people who believe in you. Alternatively, you can be the kind of leader that believes in other people. We all have the power to build one another up or tear each other down. Great leaders want others to feel great.
Language point #1:
This quote highlights the various ways that we use the word “small” in English:
It can be used, for instance, to describe more than just the size of something. Twain is not talking about people who are short or thin; he’s talking about people who are small-minded.
Small-minded [adjective]—having or showing rigid opinions or a narrow outlook; petty.
Similarly, a person can feel “small”.
To feel small means that you feel powerless or unimportant.
A bad leader wants others to feel small, and yes, there’s a word for this! It’s “belittle”:
Belittle [verb]—make (someone or something) seem unimportant.
Small-minded people often belittle others.
Language point 2:
This quote also highlights the various ways that we use the word “great”. Here are some examples:
Have a great day!
The Mona Lisa is one of the great works of art.
I have a great number of projects going on at the moment.
Their company is experiencing a great crisis.
Did you know? Mark Twain was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. His most famous book is called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.