Why do we love to watch the Olympics? Why do people watch the Super bowl? Or the NCAA tournament? Or the X games? It’s the same thing with the Grammy’s and awards shows where people perform. We love to watch people at the top of their game.

Can I watch Adele sing? All-day-long. When you watch Oscar winning performers such Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale: It’s hard to take your eyes off them. Why?

Why do we watch people who are so good at what they do? We are watching excellence in action.

Excellence in action leaves us in awe.

It’s absolutely beautiful to see people performing at the top of their game.

The thing we don’t see is the blood sweat and tears that these people put in to get to the top of their game.

It takes discipline, strength and courage plus determination and a heck of a lot of work.

The spirit of excellence is something we should strive for but it doesn’t come automatically. it takes work to get there. I had a friend in music school who had one of the most magnificent voices I’ve ever heard. She could hold her own with Maria Carey and then some. No, this is not an exaggeration. Gifted with a 4 octave range, she not only have the vocal range and power but she had to emotional to go with it, something a lot of technical singers do not have.

She told me one day, she would gladly be a world famous singer if someone gave her the house, the car and the dream on a silver platter. She wanted the results but she didn’t want to work for it. Sorry guys, it doesn’t happen that way.

Behind that excellence, in any endeavor, is discipline, hard work and just plain stick to it ness that helps you become good at what you do. But good isn’t good enough, you need to keep going until you get great. As Jim Collins says in his book, good is the enemy of great.

If you are just starting out, give yourself permission to suck. Give yourself permission to screw up, be bad, make mistakes but keep going. Everyone sucks in the beginning. You have to start somewhere and no one, I mean no one starts at the top. If you want to be excellent, keep improving even after you get really good. Never, ever settle.

The power of excellence has many benefits.  Let’s go through them one by one.

1. It makes you stand out. (In a good way).
2. It makes you feel good.
3. It keeps your current client/customer happy.
4. It attracts new customers word of mouth spreads both good and bad.
5. Even if people don’t need your services they will know what you stand for.

In an Ocean of mediocrity, your excellence will stand out.

The power of excellence is that it makes you stand out. People will remember you. They appreciate how good you are. I understand that some countries, some religions and some societies look down on this. No one is supposed to stand out. If no one is supposed to stand out then everyone should be excellent because it is the best way to be. You want someone to remember your company and your product? Be excellent at what you do.

Being excellent makes you feel good. Being the best you can be and bringing your best every single time is a great high. When you play a good game of tennis or smash your opponent at cards or run the personal best in your 5k race, it makes you feel good. You accomplish something. That is a high that just feels great. Knowing you knocked it out of the ballpark. Even if you lose the game, if you go head to head with another brilliant team playing their best you can walk away knowing you played one hell of a game.

People can’t stop watching excellent ball games, singers, actors, and grocery baggers. Yes, I said grocery baggers. Have you ever watched the guys & girls at Trader Joe’s pack a bag? Everyone else pales in comparison. I get frustrated at the grocery stores and target and want to tell them “You need to go to Trader Joe’s and get trained on how to bag a bag”. They’re that good.

Every day people notice. Your boss, your clients, your neighbors and strangers. Always work and perform at your best. One, do it for yourself. Two, do it for God because he sees it even if no one else does. Three, strangers notice and you never know who that stranger is. One of my friends was working at Eddie Bauer retail store in California. A man that he waited on was so impressed with his customer service that he offered him an office job at a lot more money, steady pay and benefits. For this man, that was a pot of gold.

Excellence attracts more excellence.

You will attract better people in your life, better resources and better clients and customers.

Excellent products and services will give you a competitive advantage. You will stand shoulders above the competition.

I called T-mobile about 11 years ago. My parents were traveling in the southwest and I hadn’t heard from them in a couple days. My parents phone was on my phone plan. My parents are older and retired and they usually check in every day or every other day when they travel. I was starting to get worried so I called customer service at T-mobile. Even though our phones were attached the customer service rep was careful not to give me too much information. But she called my parents, tracked them down, talked to them in person and then called me back and let me know that they were okay and they would call the next day.

When was the last time you had a customer service experience like that? To this day, I remember that experience and I probably always will. Every time I go to upgrade my iphone, I consider switching to a different carrier but every time I stay with T-mobile.

If you want to keep your current clients happy and attract more clients, be excellent at what you do. Yes, you can have a bad day and make mistake, just own it and make up for it.

If you want to not just survive but thrive in the market place, aim for excellence. Not perfectionism. Excellence is giving top-notch service, going the extra mile and delivering 120%. It comes from a place of love.

Perfectionism is the opposite. It’s good to sweat the details but not out of fear. Perfectionism comes from the need to please people and from fear. The fear of not being good enough. Perfectionism is oppressive. Excellence is loving. Perfectionism is caring about yourself. Excellence is caring about the other person and yourself. Get the spirit of excellence in your life.

Be excellent in all you do.

With Love,

Deb