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Striving for Excellence

Written by: Craig Whalen

Article Overview: Excellence…it’s a concept that seems to have escaped much of the modern world. We live in a culture where “good enough” will get you by, and many believe that “good enough” is worthy of some reward. The idea that you should always do your best in everything you do has become a rare quality in this present age, and for many is merely a quaint memory of the way the world once was.

Striving for Excellence

Excellence…it’s a concept that seems to have escaped much of the modern world. We live in a culture where “good enough” will get you by, and many believe that “good enough” is worthy of some reward. The idea that you should always do your best in everything you do has become a rare quality in this present age, and for many is merely a quaint memory of the way the world once was. Of course, no one is perfect, but the idea of pursuing excellence should be paramount in our daily lives. Pursuing excellence gives oneself pride in whatever they accomplish because they know that they’ve put forth their best effort. That’s a pride that might otherwise be unknown. The pursuit of excellence also pushes people to accomplish things that they may have thought impossible, but the desire to continually grow and the push to be better stretches them to attain to things they may have believed unattainable. Unfortunately, our self-serving society has created a generation of mediocre citizens content to live their lives as “good enough”.

“Good enough” has never produced anything worth having. “Good enough” doesn’t get you that raise you think you deserve. “Good enough” will keep you in your current state as long as you think “good enough” is “good enough”. “Good enough” is likely to blame for many of the hardships that our world is enduring today because of the examples set for the children of those who live lives by doing just enough to get by. Each generation is being taught to believe that any effort, however little it may be, is “good enough” (I’m really beginning to hate that phrase) and “good enough” become less and less with each passing generation.

For me, “good enough” simply isn’t! I attribute my desire to pursue excellence and always put forth my best effort to my dad. When I was growing up my dad had a lot of stories (as I’m sure most dads do). You know the stories…awake at 3am to work, and then off to school, only to go back to work after school…the torturous stories you’ve heard so many times you could say them right along with him (though you didn’t dare). In all of his stories (there actually weren’t many, but a few that kept getting recycled) there was always a recurring theme of hard work, diligence and a work ethic that taught you to be the best in anything you do. He would say “I don’t care if you’re a ditch-digger. You be the best damn ditch-digger they’ve ever seen!” That one thought has stayed with me through the years and has been a cornerstone of my personal and my professional life. Applying that concept to any and every endeavor has made life pretty easy. Of course life has its’ share of difficulties to throw at you, but remember the old adage “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you handle it”. There will always be another challenge right around the corner, so prepare the way with excellence. Handle every situation with excellence. Run your business or work your job with excellence. Teach your kids excellence. Strive for excellence in ALL that you do and you will be amazed at the results.

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Article Tags: excellence, home business excellence, striving for excellence, work at home, work ethic, work from home
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



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Legacy - Thinking about leaving a legacy, most people think it got to do with money. It is much more than that. In my opinion it is a reflection of someones live well lived. eg Someone can leave a 'Spirit of Caring for others' or a 'Spirit of Excellence' . There is absolutely no end of ways to encourage people to achieve their goals and dreams. We have so many people , who make us think, how we should live. The example of Trump is there. Any other viewpoints? Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!!"
Is there a need for correct English? - Hi, I am originally of German tongue. By the way, it is not the easiest language to learn. Then I learnt French, which I spoke fluently long time ago. You loose it if you don't use it. For over 30 years I am in England and need only to speak English. I realize, that I have some imperfections. Sometimes it is back to front etc. Does anyone know, who is best qualified to correct my future articles? Or, does anybody care, how it is written today? 'Anything goes' people say. Is Excellence in English writing important? Kindest regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"
Re: Is there a need for correct English? - [quote="bmueller47":3l2bmunq]Hi, I am originally of German tongue. By the way, it is not the easiest language to learn. Then I learnt French, which I spoke fluently long time ago. You loose it if you don't use it. For over 30 years I am in England and need only to speak English. I realize, that I have some imperfections. Sometimes it is back to front etc. Does anyone know, who is best qualified to correct my future articles? Or, does anybody care, how it is written today? 'Anything goes' people say. Is Excellence in English writing important? Kindest regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"[/quote:3l2bmunq] I specialize in correcting people's grammar... shoot me an email if you like.
Re: Is there a need for correct English? - Yes your writing is important. Not just the grammar but the style. Some people are hung up on the grammar and will refuse to read your work or make judgments on your credibility. Find a good editor, as I should have done for the reply to this post. [quote="bmueller47":jru6md6u]Hi, I am originally of German tongue. By the way, it is not the easiest language to learn. Then I learnt French, which I spoke fluently long time ago. You loose it if you don't use it. For over 30 years I am in England and need only to speak English. I realize, that I have some imperfections. Sometimes it is back to front etc. Does anyone know, who is best qualified to correct my future articles? Or, does anybody care, how it is written today? 'Anything goes' people say. Is Excellence in English writing important? Kindest regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"[/quote:jru6md6u]
Re: Introducing myself, Scott Allison and Teamly - Sure, no problem GT. Here is some more about me: I founded my first business in my spare time while at University and since then entrepreneurship and business has become part of my blood. I am motivated by the desire to lead and build a valuable business using culture and values as a core foundation and to make products that make a difference to those who use them. I love entrepreneurship, and am keen to assist others fulfil their potential, that’s why I am on the board of non-profit, The Entrepreneurial Exchange, which aims to help entrepreneurs scale their high-growth potential business. I am also a volunteer business advisor to 18-25 year olds at the PSYBT, helping young kids who are just starting out. Prior to Teamly I was the managing director of abica, a remarkable business telecoms provider. abica was an exciting place to be with a clear vision of the future, and during that time I learned how to build and manage a great team, developed the company culture and core values, repositioned and re-branded the business, and delivered a new set of products to enhance long term shareholder value and bring in new recurring revenue streams. I left in October 2009, coinciding with the company winning a prestigious award for Excellence in Customer Service, which recognised the quality of our offering. My goal with Teamly is to be the leading online provider world-wide of teamwork software to small and medium sized businesses. I think the product we have built is the answer to the staff management issues a lot of new entrepreneurs are experiencing for the first time. Teamly's core purpose is to help businesses be more successful, and their people more aligned and effective through use of our online teamwork software.


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