Finding your own intent to excellence

Finding your own intent to excellence

by Shirley Osborne — 

The minute we decide we want to be successful — in any area, for any reason — we must be ready to begin to work.

Success demands adequate preparation and consistent, systematic effort. It does not matter what our goal is, whether we want to be successful as a friend or as a nuclear physicist. It matters not whether our arena is our private cul-de-sac or the entire world. And it really makes no difference whether the thing is a matter of life and death or whether it’s pure fun. The minute we decide we want to be successful — in any area, for any reason — we must be ready to begin to work.

And, contrary to what many people believe, work is not a dirty word. Work is not punishment. Work is an opportunity to use our talents, to develop our skills. Work gives us the chance to strut our stuff and to enjoy rich rewards. Nothing impresses others nearly as much as how well we work or how good we are at it. And this is not limited to professional areas. People are impressed by an intent to excellence, regardless of the field.

Possessing the intent to excellence is to be successful from the get-go. True success is a function of how well we work at all the things we do. It is not measured in dollars or possessions. If we have the intent to excellence, we reject mediocrity, refuse to do shoddy work, say no to limiting relationships. If we possess the intent to excellence, we work at doing all things well.

We do the things we do for one of two reasons, either by choice or out of need. If we need to do something, common sense tells us that we deprive ourselves if we do it poorly. When we make a choice, we would be very foolish indeed to opt for the inferior decision.

To live without working toward success is to utterly deny the absolute magnificence of being human.

Shirley Osborne, MBA, is director and transformational coach at Regal Outcomes and works with The Girls’ Education Project, a non-profit mentoring and success development organization for young women ages 6 to 21. 602-367-3864, www.regaloutcomes.net or www.girlsproject.org.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 3, June/July 2005.