Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. — Aristotle
Hilton Head Island, SC – “Your standards forecast your standing“.
We have all set the standards that we live by. Set high standards for yourself that you aspire to. Surround yourself with others who share similar standards.
Today’s shout out goes to Scott McMasters. His leadership style encourages everyone on his team to have fun while working hard. Winning is more fun. Yes?
Marietta, GA – “Make your days count. Don’t count your days!”
Trevor Moawad wrote a terrific book called, “Getting to Neutral”. Trevor was battling cancer in his middle 40’s when he wrote this book with his best friend and NFL All-Pro, Russell Wilson. The premise of his book is that we can’t really live if we don’t live in the now. Golfer Greg Norman calls it, “Do it now, Do it proper”. Repetitive activities done well become habits which continues the flywheel effect and the momentum continues. This is quite different from “positive thinking”. It’s the absence of “negative thinking”. There is a difference. Trevor’s training centered on focusing on the task at hand as being neither “positive” or “negative”. The present situation is what it is. We have to make decisions and choices in the present moment. Will our thoughts and actions move us toward our objectives or away from them?
Doing what you need to do in the present has been misinterpreted as modern stoicism. Trevor would disagree. He passed away at 48 after impacting thousands of people with his mental training and conditioning for elite organizations like the Universities of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. My challenge to you is to live every moment in the present. The past is the past. Learn from it and move on. The future is not determined. Don’t dwell on a future that is so far out as to become more dreams and fantasy than obtainable. A long distance runner can dream of marathons but unless he trains in the present, he will never be able to compete competitively for a full 26 miles. Every worthwhile goal in life is made up of many incremental steps that must be done to reach a successful completion.
1.- Trevor taught elite athletes how to hyper focus on executing at the highest levels by performing well incrementally.
2.- Living in the present moment is the only way to achieve your goals and objectives.
3.- Every moment should be seen as an opportunity to move incrementally toward fulfilling your purpose.
Doing a good job is more rare than many people think.
It’s not easy to do good work each and every day.
Do Well, Repeat… makes a good life.
This post is dedicated to an old friend, Kevin Lewis, who has been an inspiration to me and always finds a way to make me laugh when we get a chance to catch up.