Insights on business,
life, and leadership —
right in your inbox!

Excellence Every Day

April 12, 2022

Baseball season is back!

I’m a lifelong fan of the Atlanta Braves, so I’m loving all of the celebrations from winning the World Series last year.

I love the story of George Brett, who played twenty-one years for the Kansas City Royals and finished his career with more than 3,000 hits and 300 home runs. Brett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

As he neared the end of his career, a reporter asked him how he would like his very last at bat to go. Everyone assumed that his answer would be to go out with some fanfare—it’s the World Series, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, full count, and he hits a home run to win the game.

However, the answer Brett gave was surprising and far less dramatic. He said that he wanted the last play of his Major League Baseball career to be an average play. He wanted to hit a slow-grounder to the second baseman, and he wanted the second baseman to field it easily and throw him out as he was running to first. But when he threw him out, Brett said he wanted to be running as fast as he could toward the bag.

He said he wanted it to be said of him that he always gave his best and always tried his hardest right up until the very end.

That story is inspiring and challenging. Brett wanted to be known as a man that sought excellence in every play of his career, not just the big ones.

Here’s a question for each of us: Can you say the same of yourself? Do you strive for excellence on the ordinary days, not just the big ones?

I get it. We all get tired, burned out, and go through seasons of discouragement. But even in the middle of the mundane, we should give our very best.

It’s easy to pursue excellence when you’re trying to land the big job, get the big client, or close the big sale, but on the day packed with meetings to attend and emails to return, are you committed to bringing your best?

Take some time today to think about the way you walk through your personal and professional life.

Do you strive for excellence in the mundane moments?
Do you pursue your relationships constantly?
Do you strive to produce your best work, even when nobody’s watching?

Trust me, I know it’s a lot easier to say this than it is to put this into practice. But if every one of us showed up every single day with excellence as our goal, imagine the impact we could make!

Signature

Insights on business,
life, and leadership —
right in your inbox!