A TOUCH OF EXCELLENCE

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. he hardly knows which is which. he simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both"
James A. Michener.

The Art of excellence is a broadly discussed topic. One can find several hundreds of books on the subject. Most of them are written by people who have excelled one way or the other in their field. They usually write it in a form of ......HOW TO...book that seeks to teach its readership a clear step-by step approach to excellence in a chosen field of work.

This piece does not follow that approach. This is not intended to teach you how to excel. My aim rather is to point to you the need for excellence. among other things, i wish to present to you thought-provoking issues that will inspire you to seek excellence in whatever you do.

I write about the subject of excellence not because i am excellent in what i do. I write about this not because i have so much to boast of. What gives me the courage and inspiration to write about it is the fact my personal failures and mediocrity in the past have shown me the need to add a touch of excellence to whatever i do, if at all i want to succeed.

Why Excellence?

One may want to ask,......why do i need to excel in what i do? Well, my answer is simple. There are two groups of people in this world (by my personal reasoning). Those who want to make a difference and those who don't really care about what happens to them or others. If you belong to the second group, kindly stop reading this. It was not written for you. On the other hand, if you belong to the first group, this is my answer:...........If it must be done, it must be done well. 

It was H. Jackson Brown Jnr who said,........... "A racehorse that consistently runs just a second faster than another horse is worth millions of dollars. Be willing to give the extra effort that separates the winner from the one in second place". The world today has witnessed such monumental advancements that our forebears would never have imagined. All this, we owe to few people who decided to go the extra mile. They constantly fanned the flame of dissatisfaction burning within their hearts. They resolved to make things simple and easy for the rest of us. They dedicated their time and talents to the job at hand and now you and i are enjoying the fruit of their labour.

If you are into business, you would agree with me that your success depends on the quality of the services you provide. When you provide exceptional services, your client base grows and your cashflow and income multiplies in exponential terms. If you are a student, the knowledge you acquire through diligent study and research pays not only during examinations where you are likely to obtain distinctions, but also makes you the toast of big companies who will employ you without hesitation. It pays to add a touch of excellence to whatever you do.

The human nature navigates towards excellence. Beautiful things are pleasurable sights for the eye to behold.

When you excel in what you do, you infect the world with your influence. You also unknowingly become a source of inspiration to thousands who will as well be motivated to pursue excellence.

How do i excel?

Pleasure in the job, puts perfection in the work.,......says grandfather Aristotle.

Excellence is not an act, but a habit. A heartfelt longing to improve on what you do each passing day is the surest way to excellence. But let me sound a word of caution here. Don't attempt to excel at a venture you don't have a passion for. To be able to excel at anything, you must have the pleasure to do it. If it is pleasurable to do, excellence then becomes effortless. 

We excel by committing time and talent to what we do. We must be prepared to spend hours, days, weeks, months and years into improving on our thoughts, actions, services and anything else we find worthwhile. Every bit of our innermost abilities must be unleashed to contribute to the perfection of the job at hand. Not a single idea, not a single opportunity , not a single action that has the potential of adding value to our work should be left to chance. 

We excel by learning from others. Wise people, they say learn from their own mistakes, but smart people learn from that of others. Whatever we find ourselves doing, others in one way or the other have attempted before or are doing same as well. In the pages of history, in the news on TV and the newspapers are found thousands of people who have excelled or are excelling in what they do. If you will spend time reading about some of them, you will discover this one word attributed to them all. It is the magic word that has inspired all forms of excellence from the days of old to our present dispensation,........ATTITUDE.

Excellence will not be achieved until we develop not only a positive attitude, but most importantly the right attitude towards what we do. 

We excel by acting on the desire to improve. A desire to improve on what we do is just a step towards  excellence. It is made complete when that desire is pursued by the right action. Facebook is by far the largest social network in the world.They don't stop at that. Each and every day, their programmers are busy developing new ways of keeping their subscriber base. They recently bought Instagram, in their quest to improve on the services they currently provide. This is a clear example of desire backed by action. An emerging social network, built by an African and managed by Africans,......www.youngrf.com is another innovative idea to give internet users what the other mainstream social networks are not giving. Its Mentorship feature is a feather in the cup that will make it a global force to contend with, in the coming years. You may want to sign up, and you will never regret.

Excellence is a habit  we must all strive to attain. A touch of excellence is the magic wand that will turn your life around. It will multiply your sales and increase your output. Excellence will shoot up your value and it will cause you to be chased.

Excellence, in my opinion, is the cheapest form of publicity. When you excel in what you do, people will advertise for you for no fee. You will become a household name and thousands will hold you in high-esteem.

If you thought otherwise of excellence, then I think its about time you revised your notes.

Dare to add a touch of excellence to whatever you do.

THE GOD FACTOR

The fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom, ......................."Because in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom" (Colossians 2:3)..................."He hath Counsel and understanding (Job 12:13)

This is the second in a series of my review of Yaw Perbi (MD. Capt)'s book, A++, Maximising Your Tertiary Education And Loving It.
I had earlier on underscored the need to get a clear understanding of what your education means to you. Education shouldn't be limited to enrolling into an institution, getting good grades, and graduating with a certificate. It should rather provide us with an opportunity to develop all areas of our lives, unearth our hidden talents and prepare us for the world, equipped for every good work.
William Shakespeare wrote:
There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how he will.
Except you are an atheist (which i think should be given a second thought if you are one), you agree with me that the absence of God in our lives is a recipe for failure and disaster. He is the source of all knowledge and wisdom. This discourse on the God-factor in our education is Christianity-based and i have no apology for it, for i can only relate with what i have experienced - "that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life" (1 John 1:1)

Of Personal Relations With God.
This is one area of our lives as students that we can never lie about,.. the state of our relations with God. If we will enjoy our education to the fullest, be an example to many and prosper in later life, then the closer we get to God, the better. An apple a day, they say keeps the doctor away. A prayer a day, also keeps the devil away. Spend time with God, talk to Him, and most importantly, listen to Him.
Nothing should be substituted for the time you spend with God in secret. Let your Quiet time be a daily routine.
Whatver you feed your mind with, reflects in you character and utterances. Do well to feed on the Word of God daily, if godliness is of the essence to you (which should surely be)

Of Unions and Fellowships........
If you are a Christian, never be deceived into........"living a righteous life independent of others. I will not join the church because i am even holier than some of the members." This is self-deception and a fallacy of the highest degree. Being an integral part of Churches and fellowships not only draws you close to God, but also offers you the opportunity to train yourself in church leadership, time management, human relations and public speaking. This i find very useful and essential for both spiritual and psychological growth. Join, participate, link up, live, love and learn. The church community also comes with a lot of social benefits, aside the spiritual growth we get. The Church is a social support group that should care for one another and empathise with the plight of its members. Your membership with the church should be able to teach you how to feel the pains of others and celebrate their joy as well. It helps you suppress dangerous emotions as paranoia, greed, jealousy and hatred.

Relationship of Godliness with Academics. 
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth...( 2 Timothy 2:15)
Scattered through the scripture are words of admonition, pointing us to dedicate time to whatever that comes to our hand to do. There in the pages, are subtle instructions,..........."whatever that your hand find doing, do with all your heart". This is a law of scripture. The devoted Christain who yields to the instructions of the most high will bury himself deep in his books to study. He will hold the instruction of his teachers in high esteem and shun all forms of idleness.
An encounter with God changes you totally. You therefore become the product, and you grades, the by-products. If you are a symbol of excellence, your grades will be.
Dare to be godly. It is the surest way to academic and moral excellence.