Secrets of Excellence

The pursuit of excellence consumes the mind of every top achiever. An athlete who has the goal of participating in the Olympic Games strives to extract every degree of excellence and efficiency possible. Mediocrity never enters the mind of an Olympic bound athlete. Being average belongs to the playground athlete not the gold medal winners.

The story of a concert violinist also depicts excellence. A lady came back stage to greet the master after a magnificent performance. She exclaimed, “I would give my life to play like that.” The master smiled, thanked her and replied, “I did.” He devoted his entire life to mastering the skill and performance excellence.

Achievement of superiority in any endeavor requires intense dedication. Study the masters, study success, study yourself to refine and enhance every aspect. Excellence is never achieved without study and extensive effort.

The “Excellence” has hung on my wall for over a decade. Unfortunately, it arrived without an author’s name attached. I do not claim it as mine, but I treasure its wisdom.

“Excellence is:

The result of caring more than others think is wise

Risking more than others think is safe

Dreaming more than others think is practical and

Expecting more than others think is possible.”

Success magazine featured David Foster, the hit man, in the September 2009 magazine. David has achieved super star status not only as a performer but as a producer. He told his mentor about the first record he produced with the explanation/apology that one track was not his favorite and another track had a small part which was not perfectly in tune. His mentor snatched the record out of his had and pointed out David’s name on the label as producer. “Never put your name on something you are not proud of having associated with you.” From that day on, David adopted the philosophy of “good enough isn’t.” Always strive for the very best. This absolute pursuit of excellence has been one of the reasons David has achieved superstar status.

Your name depicts your legacy. How do you choose to be remembered – “as one who just got by” or as “one who excelled?” Perfectionism can be a handicap as well as an asset. The goal of excellence has more to do with “bettering your best” than paralyzing yourself with lack of action until everything is perfect. Take action and continue working toward your individual excellence goal.

Employees can be grouped in three categories: white knights, milk toast, and red ants. The white knights always go above and beyond their job descriptions; they help others and work to achieve the very best results for the company and all employees. The white knights strive for excellence.
The milk toast arrives at the last minute, do their job but no more and leave at 30 seconds past quitting time. This is a mediocre attitude.

The red ants are always causing discord in the work place and complaining about everything. Red ants get fired.
Strive to be a “white knight.” White knights understand excellence. White knights receive raises and promotions, but even more, they earn the respect and admiration of everyone whose lives they touch.

Always strive to be the very best you can possibly be and celebrate each achievement. Excellence is a journey and a process. The person who strives for excellence never settles for “good enough.” They thrive on the challenge and relish each new achievement. This desire for excellence permeates the atmosphere around them and inspires others to reach for their own personal excellence.

Create your own excellence mindset. Let me help by joining me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Big Ego

Functioning in your ego? Being proud of your accomplishments is not only valid, but should be celebrated. Write major goals and minor goals on your goal sheet; having the fun of checking them off, is to be relished. Giving yourself a prize for accomplishment and a penalty for missing the mark serves to incentivize goals. I applaud goal achievement and reward.

During my morning work out today, I listened to Dr Wayne Dyer. Dr Dyer has published 30 books, numerous audio recordings, hosted public television programs and lectured all over the world. His point this morning struck a chord in my heart. He was speaking on the Success dual disk which arrives every two months in my Success magazine.

Dr Dyer, known as the father of motivation, turned the crank of my thought pattern this morning by challenging my perspective. Wayne spoke about how for the first nine months of our life we don’t worry about anything. We have zero concerns about the color of our eyes or if our heart will start beating. Our mother simply carries us in her womb and lets God do his perfect work to create us. On the day of our birth, we unconsciously say, “Great work, God. We’ll take over from here.” We let our EGO take over from that point forward. Wayne’s definition of EGO is Edge God Out.

On some level, we say, “We are in control now. We take credit for all of the wonderful talents, abilities and accomplishments in our life. Unfortunately, sometimes He gets the blame when things do not go well. If we are going to take all of the credit for the great events, we also need to take responsibility for the “why did that happen” events. Most of us function largely within our ego.

Are you accepting full responsibility for your life? Taking credit for all of the wonderful events also requires taking full responsibility for our mistakes. Ego isn’t totally bad if it spurs you forward to create more with the time and talents you were given. Napoleon Hill spoke of the two sealed envelopes we bring with us at birth. He reminded us of the benefits of taking control of our mind and the penalties for not taking control of our mind. Taking control of our own mind allows us to grow and achieve. Ego plays a part in that growth and achievement.

The core issue revolves around whether we function totally self serving or serving others. Functioning totally, or even 90 per cent, within our ego indicates a strong probability that we are edging God out of the picture and being self serving.

Some of the greatest leaders throughout history were servant leaders. They learned the valuable lesson of valuing other people. They achieved great wealth by assisting others to reach their dreams and goals. Great leaders are also known throughout history to be deeply grateful for the blessings and opportunities they have received. Research all of the great leaders and you will find deeply religious convictions.

You will either be remembered for the problems you solve or the problems you create. Great leaders who are servant leaders focus on serving others. Great leaders provide benefit to others.

Hitler, on the other hand, functioned on ego and encouraged his followers to function on the egocentric belief that they were superior. Look how that ended. . .

Think carefully about your feelings and motivation. Are you functioning out of ego and being self serving? Are you edging God out? How do you choose to have your legacy read, “He gave value to others” or “He lived for his own gain.”

Ego under control can produce positive results. Ego out of control becomes destructive.

For more thought provoking articles, visit me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

You Deserve Prosperity

As a professional speaker and a seasoned entrepreneur, I have experienced various challenges and various attitudes in my career.
As a professional speaker, it warms my heart to see audiences come alive. When people truly “get it” and understand that they not only can but should be happy and prosperous, it is so rewarding. One of the things which gives me so much pleasure is knowing that I am providing value, inspiration and enjoyment to my audiences. Providing positive information which people can directly and immediately apply to their lives gives value to them and satisfaction to me. One of the ways to know that you are in the right profession is the feeling that you enjoy what you do so much that you look forward to each new day.
Dr. Srikumar Roa, noted professor of Columbia Business School and the London Business School. Spoke in the September, 2009 Success magazine cd about his philosophy. He advocates knowing you are doing fulfilling work when you are so grateful that you feel like going down on your knees in gratitude. This deep sense of fulfillment provides the creativity to move your business and your life forward.
Speaking gives me that feeling of pleasure and excitement.
Some experts have even said that if you love your work so much that you would do it for free, then you know you are in the right place doing the right thing. Now I am not advocating that you stop earning a living, but it is a serious check on your feelings toward your career and your life.
My entrepreneurial career has spanned decades. I can honestly say that I have loved the adventure and growth achieved from all of my various professional challenges. Something good comes from absolutely every experience when you truly look for the benefit. Seek the frustration and disappointment and you will find exactly that. Seek growth and potential value in each challenge and you will find precisely that value.
My professional career started on my 21st birthday when I walked into the law class of 40 senior high school boys. As a college graduate who was less than 3 years older than the majority of the students in the class, it was interesting. Add to that the fact that I am very feminine and my last name is LOVE. Yes, it provided varied reactions within the group.
Next I managed a chain of Goodyear tire dealerships in Detroit Michigan in the 60s and 70s. Once again, a challenge. Being a feminine lady in a male dominated industry required being the epitome of femininity and professionalism in order to maintain authority.
Owning a property management company in a premier Colorado ski resort and then learning internet marketing as my next two professional endeavors have all provided education and challenge. Fortunately, I have grown as a professional and as a person.
All of this knowledge, experience and passion weave themselves through my professional speaking and my coaching. Effective speeches deal with topics you truly know. Extensive reading, study and personal development enhance the value presented and experienced by the audience. In order to give more, you must become more. My goal is to present value, inspiration and enjoyment to my audiences.
Join me on my blog at www.lelovelifelife.blogspot.com and lets grow together.

Dream Economics

It would be difficult for anyone NOT to be aware of the current economic situation in the United States. The collapse actually hit Wall Street even harder than Main Street initially. When the banking industry quivered and went into cold chills, America noticed. The real impact struck home when formerly middle and upper class families started losing their homes. It was unfathomable to most that there was even a possibility of foreclosure. Bottom line in far too many cases was that homes were purchased with the mistaken belief that real estate would continue to skyrocket in price. Reality is that what goes up at some point may very likely come down. Come down it did. In fact it came crashing down.

The problem was more than just purchasing too expensive a home on the wing and prayer that it would continue to rise in price, but people were using their home like an ATM. People were pulling money out of their home at alarming rates. When values could no longer support the high price, many found themselves owing more on the mortgage than the potential sales price. Sales price – that is if they could find a buyer at all.

Mortgage companies tightened their rules and raised their standards. Few found themselves able to qualify for a loan. The sales market dried up like a prune.

We need to go back to the basics of realistic purchasing rather than spending based on dream economics. It is time to return to our entrepreneurial roots and make sound decisions for our future.

As Paul Zane Pilzer, economic advisor to two presidents wrote in his article in the September 2009 Success magazine, the wisest decision anyone can make right now is to own their own business and take charge of their future. He spoke about the dangers of a job in this economy. Either your company is looking to streamline and eliminate your job or another company is looking to purchase your company and eliminate your job.

We need to stop believing in dream economics where everything is rosy and someone else will always take care of us. We now know through tough experience that prices do not continue to rise forever. It is time to take responsibility for our past decisions and take charge of our future.

Having a job right now and relying on that “guaranteed pay check” is foolish. Counting on your house to continue to escalate in price far beyond value is wishful thinking. Stop relying on dream economics and step up to take charge of your future.