In history, the word "excellence" has been used as a title of honor. It derives from the word “excel” which means to go beyond average.
John Gardner said: “The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
If you think excellence is not that significant, consider this... If 99.9% is good enough then:
∙ 2 million documents will be lost by the IRS this year.
∙ 22,000 checks will be deducted from wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes.
∙ 1,314 telephone calls will be misplaced by telecommunications services every minute.
∙ 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day.
∙ 2,488 books will be shipped with the wrong cover on them.
∙ Over 5 ½ million cases of soft drinks will be produced that will be flat.
∙ 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the next 12 months.
How do you become a person of excellence? First of all you must value excellence. Zig Ziglar said; “Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.”
Valuing excellence means never settling for average. When we really begin to rise above average and have a desire to be a little bit better, we distinguish ourselves very quickly.
John Maxwell says, excellence can be attained if you...
Care more than others think wise.
Risk more than others think safe.
Dream more than others think practical.
Expect more than others think possible.
Work more than others think necessary.
