The Pursuit of Excellence

The other day I was sitting on a bench at the end of a small basketball court at our local Y watching my young son practice dribbling the ball. His coach was trying to teach the young boys several advanced dribbling techniques, like dribbling behind the back and between the legs.

I’ve seen enough movies, television shows, and commercials to know that it’s just not right to put too much pressure on a young boy to perform. And although I agree with this modern wisdom, I can’t help but want my son to be, if not the best, at least good. And so I got a little nervous when I noticed that he was going slower than most of the other boys on the team. This seemed odd, because he’s one of the better players on his team. But, knowing my love for my son and the dangers of speaking rashly, I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything.

However, as I sat and watched him struggle with these advanced moves, I started to notice that he was going slower than the other boys because he was really trying to get it. Several of the other boys had mostly given up and were going fast because they weren’t really trying. I realized that the fact that he was going slower might have given the illusion that the other boys were better, because they were faster, but in reality, he was building skills that would give him the advantage in scrimmages and games—because my son, wiser than his father, found the pursuit of excellence to be more important than how his peers might perceive him.

How often in life do we miss out on the opportunity to pursue excellence because we’re afraid that we’re getting passed by? Or that we’re doing it different from everyone else? Or that we might look foolish to our peers?

Walt Disney said “I am not influenced by the techniques or fashions of any other motion picture company.” He also said, “We created Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster—closed and forgotten within the first year.”

Very few individuals can claim to have had a greater impact on modern culture and entertainment than Walt Disney. Excellence requires a single minded pursuit that may not ignore everything around it, but certainly isn’t distracted by it.

Make the decision to pursue excellence today and follow through. If you do, and endure through the trials that will undoubtedly come, you’re guaranteed to create something of real value. The thing you create might be different than what you initially set out for, but it will have value. And you will find, like Walt Disney, that when you pursue excellence, your accomplishments will inspire others to do the same. Can any of us hope for a better legacy than that?

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