“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.”—Pat Riley
Excellence. Vince Lombardi said: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” The pursuit of excellence is the very heart of “be your best today; be better tomorrow.” Certainly, it is epitomized by Dan Gable and Iowa Wrestling.
What are we here for if not to be excellent? Sadly, though, we tend to want to be excellent in areas other than those in which we are gifted. We each have very specific talents. We need to be excellent—(extra)ordinary—in these.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). There is no room here for anything less than excellence. As I write my thoughts on the “Gable Trained” principles, I find a significant amount of overlap. I find myself wanting to repeat myself. All of these principles (mentors, simplicity, communication, consequences, focus, examples, teamwork, adversity, improving, remembering, peaking, talent, excellence, help, prevention, unknowns, appreciation, tools, current, normal, victory, recovery, and the longer, the longer) relate to one another in countless ways. I find it interesting that, of this list, “talent” sits at the middle, followed by “excellence”. Central to one’s success is talent. Excellence is beyond average—it is beyond the “successful side of mediocre”. Excellence is taking our talents to new heights and beyond.
There is nothing successful about merely doing that which you are capable of doing. Excellence is taking one’s talents and opportunity and developing them. With talent comes expectation. Excellence exceeds expectations. It requires hard work and dedication. It requires expecting more of one’s self than others expect.
For some, it may seem unduly stressful to have expectations of excellence. That is a pity. Our expectations must never be unreasonable, but they must extend our reach.
Ralph Marston wrote that “excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude.” I would say it is a grattitude. Excellence is an expression of gratitude for our blessedness. If one has a talent—and we have many—one should grow and use his/her talent. We are not here to be mediocre or to hide our talents. We are here to grow them and to use them. Booker T. Washington told us that “excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way”. In other words, be (extra)ordinary!
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!