Excellence -- Especially When No One is Watching

© 2002 Boaz Rauchwerger

Our self-image guides us on our path in life. A good self-image often results in good things happening because we believe we deserve such results. We usually get what we expect -- good or bad.

Excellence is an attitude which can improve the self-image and give us confidence. When you feel like a very capable, talented, success-oriented person, you will act accordingly.

If it is excellence you desire, in all facets of your life, it's important to seek excellence in everything you do. Especially when no one is watching.

I just completed a home improvement project and there is a lesson in the process that I followed.

My parents, may they rest in peace, taught me that they didn't have time not to do something well. In other words, they figured that it took much more time to come back and fix something than to take the extra time to do it well the first time. My mother was an exceptional accountant and businesswoman. My father was a terrific carpenter and builder.

Our surroundings greatly affect how we perform. Messy surroundings at home or at work often inhibit our performance. One day, as I drove out of the garage, I noticed what most people see in their garages -- lots of miscellaneous things on shelves. I got an idea. I wondered how much better I would feel if, each time I drove in or out of the garage, I saw a beautiful room? What would it take to transform it?

Ideas, once we give them the breath of life, can quickly become realities. Over the next few weeks, in my spare time, I assembled seven white cabinets with shelves, which happened to be on sale (about $80 each) at a local home improvement store. All the open shelves quickly disappeared, everything was organized inside the cabinets and I touched up all the walls with paint.

A special finish was purchased for the floor and I painted the first coat. Before painting the second coat I noticed a lot of small holes in the concrete floor. I could have just painted again and forgotten about it. However, and here is the lesson on excellence, this was MY project -- something I wanted to be proud of every time I saw it. Thus, I took the extra time to fill in all the holes and complete the painting job.

Now, every time I step in the garage, I can be proud of the extra effort I exerted. What if we made that extra effort in everything we did? Napoleon Hill, in the book Think and Grow Rich called it "going the extra mile." When we get in the habit of doing that, especially when no one is watching, that attitude becomes a habit that can reap incredible rewards.

If it's a situation at work or in your business, go the extra mile before you receive the rewards. Don't look for the heat before you put wood in the fireplace. Excellence means doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, whether you feel like it or not!

To Each of Us, The Most Important Thing is Our Name

Dale Carnegie, in the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, says that the most important thing to any one of us is our name.

Who do you look for first when you see a picture of your graduating class? YOU, of course. Why do people give a lot of money in order to put their name on a building that will far outlive them? Because that gives them a feeling of importance.

In our modern world of electronic E-mails, let's not get so inattentive that we forget this important point. How many times do you get E-mails from people who don't even greet you? They just type out their message.

The message is not being sent to a machine. It is being sent to a person. A person who considers their name the most important possession they have.

May I suggest, from now on, that you type the recipient's name at the beginning of each E-mail. And type your name at the end. In my computer, it takes just a second to add color and boldness to the recipient's name. Why not? Their name is very important to them!!!

An Excellence Affirmation

I go the extra mile and strive for excellence every day.