What is mediocrity? It is the state of being ordinary or unremarkable. Among people it is to be “average;” in business it is to be “adequate.” It is what happens when one lives without expectations, perseverance, or passion.
You, however, are not willing to fade into the background, to stand quietly by while others take the spotlight. You want to be seen. That is why mediocrity will never be enough for you. Unfortunately, our society seems set up to encourage mediocrity; many parents unwittingly teach their kids to settle for being “good enough” to avoid the risks associated with trying too hard. It is difficult to get past this willingness to settle if you don’t encounter situations that will push you to change early enough in life. In today’s world, where mediocrity will always be a step backward, how do you stay ahead of the curve? Excellence is your only option. Being excellent means being different, thinking outside the box, and not being afraid to be called “crazy.” Here are my six tenants of excellence to move you out of the audience and into the spotlight.
Six Tenants of Excellence:
1. Approach Business with Love, Passion, and Humility
You legitimately love your business; your enchantment with it remains, despite knowing its flaws. You also have a passion for it—you want to spend your life doing it, and doing it well. Lastly, you are humble enough to recognize that the thing itself is more important than your personal contribution to it. You love it enough to “let it go”; this transforms it from a selfish pursuit to one meant to enhance the lives of others and indeed the craft itself. A humble business person sees challenges as mere hurdles to be conquered in pursuit of a higher goal.
2. Detail-Oriented
Your passion drives you to be uncompromising; successful people don’t settle for imperfection. “As Is” work just won’t cut it, even if it is easier, faster, and requires less of you. Excellence means that every diamond you cut is perfect—at least to you. Your reputation for uncompromising standards will catch their attention, and then your passion will convert them. The fusion of raw passion and perfect execution creates irresistible businesses.
3. Aren’t Afraid to Start Over
If you discovered a flaw in a house you were building for your children, you wouldn’t let it slide. If necessary, you would tear the entire structure down and ensure its perfection before trusting the lives of your children to it. You treat every idea, model, press release, and marketing strategy as if you are trusting your very life to it—because you are. Every aspect of your business is a reflection of your standards of excellence. That’s why flaws must be eradicated, not just improved—adding extra wings to a house with an unstable foundation would only cause it to cave in faster. You know how to start at the root of the problem. You habitually remove the imperfections in your business before they spread like a mold and compromise even your most brilliant ideas. Remember—people aren’t perfect, but businesses can be.
4. Stop, Listen, and Learn
There is no such thing as a “new” idea anymore. “Invention” is a thing of the past. Other minds can argue whether any invention has been entirely original since the wheel; every “new” idea since then has just been building on existing foundations. You know how to embrace the contributions of others. You value the contributions of others to your models and strategies. You don’t feel the need to feign originality just to appear brilliant. You are willing to sacrifice your pride for the sake of excellence in your business.
5. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
At the same time, however, you recognize that your business is a reflection of YOU—your goals, desires, and drive. The contributions of others are valuable, but will never replace your passion and knowledge. You dismiss ideas that conflict with your gut; you don’t need them. You are under no obligation to accommodate the desires and input of those who have no stake in your business’s success or failure.
6. Learn to Love Discomfort
You’ve learned that comfort is the enemy of success. Endurance is only built through pain, courage through fear, strength through weakness. You are not in business for comfort—you are there because you have an uncontrollable passion for something and you want to see it grow into something greater. You can be comfortable on your weekends, and with your vacation time. But every hour you spend at work should be an hour of stretching, pushing, and ultimately demolishing your boundaries. And when you feel the discomfort start to pass, as you slowly begin to excel at what used to scare you, you know that’s not a good enough excuse to stop working. So you pat yourself on the back and plunge headfirst into something else that terrifies you.
You have your whole retirement to rest. NOW is the time to get shit done.