I believe every word I said...

Hello, audience!

I just couldn't stay away! But sometimes it is good to just step back and re-assess why you do what you do. It helps one put things into perspective with respect to intentions, motivations, priorities, and so on, and so on.

So, I'll get right to my point.

And my point is about Excellence. I am NOT a motivational speaker by any stretch of the imagination but I will say this much to anyone out there who is conflicted about whether or not you should strive for Excellence. The answer is a resounding ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Mediocrity kills. And performing to your mediocre ability, instead of your greatest potential, always costs a compromise of what could be for what currently is (I call that "settling" for what is). And what is is always transient, always changing. As a matter of fact, it changes into what becomes our future -- surely, a fact of nature. The only problem with this is that when we do not put "good stuff" into what our future becomes -- i.e., we don't invest in our own evolution -- we leave things that we can somewhat control (like our integrity, sense of self-worth, self-esteem) to chance. And chances are, under these circumstances, then we get whatever we get. And it's always residual, always by happenstance. Never intentional, or focused, building our confidence and self-esteem.

Excellence is expensive, though. It requires that you allow your eyes to focus a little more than just for a momentary glance at a memo or to hold an in-depth conversation with an individual who you find it a challenge to look at for any length of time because you can't stand them. Necessarily, this takes away from one's personal time, and energies that could be directed towards something else more desirable. But excellence is a personal calling to transform one's self into a better being than he or she could imagine -- even better than most people they may be surrounded by at any given moment or time, in particular if one is working in an environment where mediocrity is the norm and socially-acceptable mode of operation.

Anytime you make improvements to anything, be it your house, or your wardrobe, or your social status, you create a new baseline, so to speak. And, yes, you know what that means: With great success, comes great responsibility. Your attitude towards responsibility -- words closely associated with this, including integrity, moral code, etc, come to mind -- will dictate whether or not you are at the point where you are ready to handle what Excellence brings: Meet SUCCESS.

So the choice to pursue excellence is a conscious decision to commit one's self to his or her own evolution as a person. It's never about the organization we belong to, or the social status we may occupy at any given moment in time. It is all about how we handle the journey. Hopefully you will make the most of your decisions. Stretch yourself a little and pursue excellence in your life, and see if you do not find your life enriched beyond your wildest expectations!