Choices

On the heals of "choices" comes some thoughts about excellence. I can tell your sitting on the edge of your seats for this one. Don't expect anything great (or excellent).

I've realized lately in my life that it takes a ton of work to be excellent at something. At the bank one of our core values is "excellence _______." We're definitely not there yet but I believe we're heading in that direction. I konw I'm not the first to say this but in order to be excellent it means doing a few things very well rather than many things halfway. In corporate-life it means fewer but more meaningful services, less but more effective programs and fewer but more broad outreach events to a customer base.

In life it means that I will never be a great golfer, hunter, fisherman, or guitar player because, honestly, I'm not willing to put in the time or effort to be excellent at all (or any) of those things. Being excellent at something means making choices and making choices means making sacrifices. Here's my choice: I want to be a great husband, a great father and a great teacher but not in that order. The rest... meaningless details.

So what if I can't hit a ball 350 yards straight down the fairway. Who cares if I unload my shotgun trying to hit one bird that turns around and laughs as it flies away. Big deal if I've never mastered the art of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" on the guitar. As long as my wife is happy, my son knows I love him and the school students loves and, or respects their teacher, life is pretty excellent! After all it is not about the destination but the journey to get there.