Personal Excellence

By Binod Bidwaik

You must have read this story. But let me tell you it once again. A gentleman was once visiting a temple under construction. In the temple premises, he saw a sculptor making an idol of God.  Suddenly he saw, just a few meters away, another identical idol was lying. Surprised he asked the sculptor, do you need two statutes of the same idol.

 

“No” said the sculptor.  “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.”

The gentleman examined the statue. No apparent damage was visible.  “Where the damage is?” Gentleman asked. “There is a scratch on the nose of the idol. But where are you going to keep the idol?”

The sculptor replied that it will be installed on a pillar 20 feet high. The gentleman asked, “When the idol will be 20 feet away from the eyes of the beholder, who is going to know that there is scratch on the nose anyways?”

 

The sculptor looked at the gentleman, smiled and said, "The God knows it and I know it ". 

 

The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not. Excellence is a drive from Inside not Outside.

An excellent life does not result from chance, fate, or good luck, but from a succession of excellent days lived in pursuit of a worthy purpose.

 

I went around an asked several dozen of my friends what they thought of when they thought of excellence – and here are some of the things they mentioned…  Great works of art, incredible feats of engineering, astounding accomplishments in science – like landing a human being on the moon – and of course the amazing levels of excellence attained by world-class cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and others.

Which then lead me to ask them WHO they thought of when they thought of people that they felt embodied the true meaning of excellence…?

The question is how they made this all. The only answer is through their personal excellence. 

 

What is actually Excellence means?

 

Anything which you call excellence is

• Unusual / Unique
• Valuable
• Superior
• Outstanding
• The Best
• Surpassing all others

AS I looked at the definition of excellence – and at my own experience with people questing for excellence – it occurred to me that there is not really one set “position” or a single point that could be called “Excellence” – it is actually on a continuum…

 

I encourage you to be valuable – to work to be unusual and unique and to strive to become “Outstanding” but I caution you – that to cross that line to move toward superior – or to commit yourself and your life to becoming “The Best in the World” – that is a goal that may actually cost you your life – and everything in it!  To be the best – truly best in the world – is amazing – it can be done – but what it may cost you I don’t want to even imagine. 

My suggestions is absolutely strive for excellence – settle for nothing less – but aim for “Balanced Excellence” – a life of tremendous value – to yourself, your family, your career and community – a life of well-rounded excellence.

The Formula for Excellence

 

• Decided what it is that you really want to achieve.

• Determine exactly what it will take to achieve it.

• Focus every bit of energy and effort to achieve it.

The foundation of this all is your core values.  The core of excellence – the thing that differentiates the regular man from the excellent man is – clear, specific and strong VALUES.  There are many, many things that you can value – family, god, career, success, charity, contribution, honor – but to achieve any level of success your life must be “Values-Based.”

So what I have found is that people who achieve on a massive scale…

A Personal Philosophy of Excellence

You must define – in your own words – what excellence means to you and how you will pursue it and measure it in your own life.

The foundation of excellence is built on Values, Integrity Discipline and Focus efforts.

• You must clearly define what excellence is to you.
• Your definition must be “values based.”
• You must have a specific and detailed plan to achieve you goals.
• You must be incredibly curious about what it will take to achieve your goals.
• You must FOCUS intently on achieving your goals.
• You must have the discipline to keep focused on your goals – regardless of setbacks and difficulties.
• You must have the discipline to say “NO”
• You must have the self-discipline to make excellence a habit.
• You must have the discipline to pursue excellence – even when those around you may not want you to…
• You can’t just talk about excellence – you must live it.
• If you want to achieve more than others – you have to work harder and longer – there is no reward without effort.
• The work of excellence is measured in years and decades – not days and weeks.