"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them".

- Henry David Thoreau

Choose Excellence. Otherwise, Mediocrity just shows up in its place.

If there is one thing that separates the few who reach excellence, from the masses that wallow in mediocrity, it is this: A willingness to go beyond one's limitations, by operating outside a level of safety and comfort.

To embrace excellence, we must shun mediocrity, despising it as a sinister enemy and guarding against its intrusion into our attitudes and endeavors. As the late Jamie Buckingham wrote, "The risk-free life is a victory-free life. It means lifelong surrender to the mediocre. And that is the worst of all defeats."

You must actively REJECT MEDIOCRITY.

If you do not ACTIVELY REJECT mediocrity, you are unwittingly choosing it over excellence-and will be traveling down a road littered with broken dreams and failed expectations. Put simply, you are unwittingly choosing Mediocrity over Excellence.  ER Haas - CEO of ThinkTQ, Inc. lists 10 choices you must make each day, each hour, even each minute, to GUARANTEE that you are on the road to GREATNESS... rather than heading down the road to MEDIOCRITY:

1.      Choose to be ENERGETIC-instead of permitting yourself to become run-down and burned-out.

2.      Choose to be PASSIONATE-instead of permitting yourself to become aimless, apathetic and indifferent.

3.      Choose to be ENTHUSIASTIC-instead of permitting yourself to become half-hearted and discouraged.

4.      Choose to be SELF-DIRECTED-instead of permitting yourself to become directionless and uncertain.

5.      Choose to be PREPARED-instead of permitting yourself to become shortsighted and reactive.

6.      Choose to be FOCUSED-instead of permitting yourself to become scattered and impulsive.

7.      Choose to be SUPPORTIVE-instead of permitting yourself to become critical and judgmental.

8.      Choose to be SYSTEMATIC-instead of permitting yourself to become haphazard and disorganized.

9.      Choose to be TIMELY-instead of permitting yourself to become distracted and preoccupied.

10.    Choose to be PROACTIVE-instead of permitting yourself to become procrastinating and hesitant.

 "Mediocrity always attacks excellence." - Michael Beckwith

Today there seems to be such an extreme vacuum of leadership - in Washington DC, in businesses, in local government, in education, in churches, even in families.  One diagnosis of this malady is the lack of honorable intent among existing leaders.  There seems to be such a focus on the bottom line, the what's in it for me, the special interests.  How often have we all railed against 'special interests'.  But guess what, if you are honest, we all have belonged to that infamous group of special interests in one respect or another.

If you establish crystal clear expectations aligned with the results  you want (your WHAT), and execute brilliantly to achieve those expectations (your HOW), then you will be ahead of 90% of the pack.  However, if you want to make a difference, to change the world, to leave a legacy, then I challenged you to add a third component to your personal and business performance - HAVE HONORABLE INTENT (your WHY). 

Now if you really want to push the envelope, raise the bar, go to a higher place on honorable intent – then simply add the words 'beyond you' – so now make your goal to HAVE HONORABLE INTENT (your WHY) BEYOND YOU (your WHO)! 

One final thing – the icing if you will, be willing to invite and be able to withstand scrutiny from others that share similar worldviews. 

You see, lots of things can have honorable intent - to lose weight, to stop swearing, to spend more quality time with family, to spend less and save more, to watch less TV.  However, many of those things are primarily for your benefit.  Sure, others can and will benefit from those actions, but at the core of your motive are probably your own desires.  Nothing wrong with that - often that is the best driver we can have to change habits and accomplish great things.

However, what if you pushed your honorable intent to go beyond you -- to make it more about others and less about you.  What if your business intent was more than to make more money to improve your lifestyle and even the lifestyle of your employees?  What if it was to be a catalyst to transforming a community by eliminating poverty, or reducing adult illiteracy, or to improve the lifestyle of senior citizens in their last days, or ease the financial burden of the woman's shelter.  Couldn't you allocate some profit, or assets, or people to make a difference in some community area that is in need.

"A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and

set out to accomplish it.  He should make this purpose the

 centralizing point of his thoughts. 

It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus

his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him. 

He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into

ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. 

This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought.

Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained

will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new

starting point for future power and triumph." ~ James Allen

 

 "Waste no time arguing what a good man should be.  Be one." 

- Marcus Aurelius

 "The best way to end an argument about whether a stick is crooked,

is to lay down beside it a straight stick."   

- Unknown

Building Excellence

Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence.  Excellence is "being all you can be" within the bounds of doing what is right for your organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character.  Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership.  And the first process is being a person of honorable character.

"We define character as the sum of those qualities of moral excellence that stimulates a person to do the right thing, which is manifested through right and proper actions despite internal or external pressures to the contrary." 

- U. S. Air Force Academy

Character affects every area of our lives - our beliefs, our thoughts, our decisions, our words, our actions, our attitudes, our goals, and our relationships.  In fact, any breakdown in life can almost always be traced back to a breakdown in character.

Character develops over time. Many think that much of a person's character is formed early in life. However, no one really knows exactly how much or how early character develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly. A person's observable behavior is an indication of their character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve.

The Nine Building Bricks of Character - "TRACER DOGS"

>Trustworthiness    >Respect    >Attentiveness    >Compassion    >Enthusiasm    >Responsibility    >Discretion    >Obedience    >Gratitude    >Service 

 

"The time is always right to do what is right."  

- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

"Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character."

- Henry Clay