Goal Driven Consulting
Make excellence the name of your game
I once asked myself why winners in various disciplines like sport, politics, music, education, the arts, business, media etc attract attention from almost all sectors of the society in an electrifying manner. Have you ever asked yourself the same question?
The only answer that I got is excellent people think, speak and act excellently thereby irresistibly attracting attention from all corners of the society. Excellent people are winners who have made excellence the name of their game. They do things with excellence mentality.
The word excellence reminds of the 2008 olympics in Beijing. I am reminded of sports men like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt in particular. Michael Phelps is an American outstanding swimmer who won all seven gold medals in swimming. That was excellent. Usain Bolt is a Jamaican athlete who broke Michael Johnson's record in 100 meters. He also won the 200 meters.
What do you think made those sports men perform so excellently in Beijing Olympics? You may say it is luck, but I am fully convinced that they won those gold medals on the basis of excellence being the name of their game.
I have realized that the great contest in life is between good and best, mediocrity and excellence. It seems like good takes the upper hand over best, while mediocrity prevails over excellence. This is totally unacceptable.
There are people who achieve something good and they park there without thinking of the higher level than where they are. Others achieve mediocre results and they are comfortable with that. Things are not supposed to be this way.
Is excellence the name of your game? If what you have been achieving is mediocre results, don't be comfortable, push further, lift up the lid and go for gold.
What do you think characterizes people who made excellence the name of their game? Go with me through the characteristics that mark excellence in people.
1. Excellent people have excellence mentality
All that excellent people think about is getting excellent results. They don't settle for something that looks like excellence. They want excellence at its best.
If you want excellence to be the name of your game, all that you need to do is to develop excellence mentality. Think big, plan big, speak big, and act big. Excellence mentality will drive you to focus on going for gold, not for silver nor for bronze in your life.
2. Excellent people go extra mile
Excellent people are not satisfied with the results of today. They work harder than the previous time to make sure they improve the standard. They are not comfortable with the win of today, but they keep their eyes fixed on the win of tomorrow and beyond. They are not concerned about maintaining the standard but they are mainly concerned about lifting up the standard.
Excellent people don't give up until they have accomplished their goals. They don't rest until they have reached where they are going. When they have accomplished their desired goals, they don't get enslaved by, " I have arrived syndrome." Instead, they have the urge and passion to go extra mile.
3. Excellent people are visionary
People who make excellence the name of their game, have vision. They see beyond where they are. They know where they are going and why they are going there. They don't only know where they are going and why they are going there, they also know where they are coming from. Vision fuels them to take action about goals they want to reach.
Excellent people are motivated and inspired by the sense of vision to focus on the major goal ahead. They don't settle for less, they settle for excellence.
Vision is the ability to see farther than you can see. It has the power to enable you to stay on the right path towards the fulfillment of your strategic goals. You have to be visionary to make excellence the name of your game.
4. Excellent people are problem-solvers
Problems happen and they continue to happen at work, at home, and in all aspects of life. Excellent people acknowledge the existence of problems. They easily recognize the problem and attend to it before it becomes emergency.
Excellence is a quality whose authenticity is tested by problems. Outstanding people in life have overcome obstacles and problems. You will never make excellence the name of your game if you are not prepared to be a problem solver.
Problem solvers anticipate problems before they come and they prepare for them. They collect problem causes, they list all possible causes of the problem. They accomplish this by asking relevant questions about what exactly caused the problem. They move to the point where they consider how the problem can be avoided in the future. The last thing that they do is to list all possible solutions to the problem.
5. Excellent people are self-disciplined
Excellent people are disciplined in their work, in their finances, in their marriages and in the other aspects of their lives. They have learned that the great victory that they can win is victory over themselves. They have conquered themselves before they can conquer the world.
If you lack self-discipline, you are loose and you are missing the opportunity to make excellence the name of your game. Self-disciplined people know how to manage themselves, their priorities, their time, their marriages, their relationships, their personal lives, and they know how to manage their responsibilities.
6. Excellent people don't stop learning
People who make excellence the name of their game are always hungry for new information and knowledge. They never reach a point in their lives where they say, " I know." They keep learning new skills.
Outstanding people read books, articles; they buy and watch informative tapes. They learn from people who went before them. They also learn from their colleagues, their team members, their family members and their friends. They learn from their own mistakes and other's mistakes.
If you want to make excellence the name of your game, don't stop learning.
7. Excellent people are resilient
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from a setback. Excellent people have the ability to bounce back when times are tough. We know that major corporate companies, small businesses, governments, and consumers, have been hit hard by the global recession of 2008/2009. People have lost their jobs, their houses and their cars as a result of global recession.
Excellent people will bounce back from the setback that global recession has caused. Excellence demands that you behave like an eagle in the storm. When there is a storm, an eagle flies higher than the storm.
Conclusion
I am fully convinced that you have now made up your mind to make excellence the name of your game. If it has been the name of your game, go beyond the level you are now in.
Excellence is not an easy thing to achieve. You are going to make lots of sacrifices to build and develop the standard of excellence in your life, in your job, in your leadership, in your business, on your team, in your organization etc.
Don't ever enjoy being comfortable with mediocre results nor with good achievements. Aim for excellent results and best achievements.