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Excellence Quotes

    “My job as a teacher was to help them breathe with excellence and discipline in the classroom. The ones that love you, they become what you model. Don’t forget that. Help them breathe by modeling responsible love in the classroom every single day. The most important thing a teacher can do is give their students permission to be loving and excellent.”

    Kiese Laymon’s mom, Heavy (Page 180)

      “Excellence is mundane. Superlative performance is really a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learned or stumbled upon, which have been carefully drilled into habit and then are fitted together in a synthesized whole. There is nothing extraordinary or superhuman in any one of those actions; only the fact that they are done consistently and correctly, and all together, produce excellence. When a swimmer learns a proper flip turn in the freestyle races, she will swim the race a bit faster; then a streamlined push off from the wall, with the arms squeezed together over the head, and a little faster; then how to place the hands in the water so no air is cupped in them; then how to lift them over the water; then how to lift weights to properly build strength, and how to eat the right foods, and to wear the best suits for racing, and on and on. Each of those tasks seems small in itself, but each allows the athlete to swim a bit faster. And having learned and consistently practiced all of them together, and many more besides, the swimmer may compete in the Olympic Games… the little things really do count.”

      Daniel Chambliss

        “Some restaurants keep a photo of the local reviewer in the kitchen. The thinking is that if someone notices she’s in the building, everyone can up their game. And some musicians wait eagerly for A&R person to be in the crowd. If they really kill it tonight, a record deal might ensue. The most resilient approach, of course, is to act as if. What if this is your most important post, or your last one? What if the email you’re sending is going to be forwarded to your boss? What if… We can’t know for sure. But we can act as if it’s going to happen.”

        Seth Godin

          “Most people don’t have the patience to absorb their minds in the fine points and minutiae that are intrinsically part of their work. They are in a hurry to create effects and make a splash; they think in large brush strokes. Their work inevitably reveals their lack of attention to detail—it doesn’t connect deeply with the public, and it feels flimsy. You must see whatever you produce as something that has a life and presence of its own.”

          Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 99)

            “Then what makes a beautiful human being? Isn’t it the presence of human excellence? Young friend, if you wish to be beautiful, then work diligently at human excellence. And what is that? Observe those whom you praise without prejudice. The just or the unjust? The just. The even-tempered or the undisciplined? The even-tempered. The self-controlled or the uncontrolled? The self-controlled. In making yourself that kind of person, you will become beautiful—but to the extent you ignore these qualities, you’ll be ugly, even if you use every trick in the book to appear beautiful.”

            Epictetus, Discourses, The Daily Stoic (Page 140)

            Charles De Gaulle Quote on Being Great Only If We Are Determined To Be So

              Charles De Gaulle Quote on Being Great Only If We Are Determined To Be So

              “Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.”

              Charles De Gaulle

              Beyond the Quote (322/365)

              To be great, at the very least—as a bottom-line minimum requirement—you have to decide to be great. And you can’t just want to be great—it has to be a decision. Deciding and wanting are not one and the same. To decide is to have made up your mind. It means you’ve reviewed all of the alternative options and consequences in your head and you’ve come to a conclusion. It represents a clear starting point that can be followed with clear and aligning actions.

              Read More »Charles De Gaulle Quote on Being Great Only If We Are Determined To Be So

                “The OG greats won’t hang around you if you don’t display the same passion as they do. They won’t share their time and memories with you if you don’t display the same effort and drive for excellence that they did. Even though I was only 17 when I became a Laker, I felt like a member of the family from day one. I think I was accepted so quickly because everyone saw how hard I worked, saw how badly I wanted to fulfill my destiny and return L.A. to its championship ways.”

                Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality (Page 91)

                  “The best way to get the attention and respect of exceptional people is to do exceptional work. Like attracts like.”

                  James Clear, Blog

                  Seth Godin Quote on Making The Decision To Excel

                    “The universal truth is beyond question – the only people who excel are those who have decided to do so.” ~ Seth Godin

                    Beyond the Quote (36/365)

                    Excelling is optional.  And so is the opposite.  The path of least resistance is the path most people decide to follow.  Why wouldn’t that be the case?  Naturally, we are lazy creatures.  We’re wired to conserve energy—both by expending less (moving less) and storing more (fat on your body)—so that we don’t starve to death if we can’t get more food.  These were critical adaptations that were made over the course of our existence as humans that kept us alive during harsh periods of existence.

                    Read More »Seth Godin Quote on Making The Decision To Excel

                      “When it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.  When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard.  Therefore, leaders must enforce standards.  Consequences for failing need not be immediately severe, but leaders must ensure that tasks are repeated until the higher expected standard is achieved.” ~ Leif Babin, Extreme Ownership (Page 54)

                        Excellence can be attained, if we…

                        Care more than others think is wise.
                        Risk more than others think is safe.
                        Dream more than others think is possible.
                        Focus more than others think is reasonable.
                        Trust more than others think is practical.

                        ~ Unknown

                          “So often, people take a job because it pays well.  This scenario enables you to have a lifestyle that is supported by that money, and therefore, you find yourself stuck in that job for the rest of your life.  You become a slave to the money, working to keep up with the lifestyle you’ve grown accustomed to instead of enjoying the moment.  When you grow dependent on money, you won’t get to follow your passion. This is why I always advise people never to take a job for the money – especially when you are young and just starting out.  Passion breeds excellence.  When you are good at something, the money always follows.” ~ Blake Mycoskie

                            “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” ~ Confucius

                              “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” ~ Jimmy Johnson

                                “A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.” ~ L.P Jack

                                  “The combination of creative energies and the need to perform at the highest level to keep up with peers leads to an otherwise unattainable commitment to excellence.” ~ Ken Robinson, The Element

                                    “Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be.” ~ Mike Ditka

                                      “Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.