“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence”.

I’m a pretty simple person. But I demand excellence from myself and encourage it among those closest to me in work and life. The idea of excellence was instilled in me many years ago. I realized that I had way too many challenges and roadblocks in life (my starting point was a deficit) not to bring my “A” game all the time. This is not to suggest that I always hit the mark. In fact, I’ve missed the mark more times than I’ve hit it. In life I’ve found that there are some who can afford sloppy effort because they have a pretty reliable net. I sometimes envied their safety net, but the absence of one in my life drilled in me that every opportunity matters. So I approach most things I do with a high level of intentionality, even when it is less visible to others. Striving for excellence is like doing mental and emotional calisthenics.

When you chase excellence you will lose friends. And you will be constantly reminded of your failures. Be okay with this. People will not always agree with your vision or strategy, but the fact that you approach your craft with thoughtfulness and strive to be excellent assures that when one opportunity closes another will open. To change the trajectory of a generation and our region, we have to encourage and nurture excellence.