They infuriate you.
Make you green with envy.
And every time you hear about their latest achievement, something in you dies.
They always got the best grades. Their boss loves them. As for athletic prowess, you dare not even look.
Yes, don’t you just hate those people who excel at everything?
You want to put on a brave face and say to yourself that it doesn’t really matter if others are achieving so much more than you. Performing at a whole different level to you.
And here you are stuck in your world of never-ending mediocrity.
Oh, why is life so unfair?
So what do you do?
Is there any hope for you?
Will you ever eat at the top table?
I too felt like this once.
The Cocky Young Guy Who Learnt to Eat Humble Pie
I was a cocky young guy who thought he knew it all. I was smarter than everyone else. Of course, I knew best.
And yet others who I considered to be far inferior to me were getting on in life and in their career. Leaving me behind on my high horse.
And it killed me daily from the inside.
Just what the hell was going on? Were they just smarter than me?
What was their secret sauce?
Was it magic?
Then one day, I had a wake-up call. A painful wake-up call.
A friend took me to one side and gave me a furious and fearful pep call which changed my life forever. He scared the living daylights out of me, but I thanked him afterwards for his straight-talking.
He told me what I had suspected deep down all along — I was just not pushing myself enough. I was content to be mediocre.
These guys were not smoking some crazy weed to excel so much.
They were no smarter than me.
They were simply smarter in using what gifts they had — and unlike me, they were applying themselves.
Yes, they were working their backsides off. Whilst I simply poo-pooed them. And pissed on their parade.
At first, I was angry with my friend. I always know best, so how dare he lecture me.
But deep down I knew he was right. It was time to eat some humble pie. And to buckle up and get my arse in gear.
It was time to work my arse off. And to FOCUS on excellence.
And it was also time for me to focus on excellence rather than perfection.
It was so obvious that I felt stupid for not having seen this much sooner.
The secret to proficiency and indeed the secret sauce for success in life was to develop a mindset of excellence.
Time to Get Smug about Your Own Moments of Excellence
I then remembered all the times in my life I had been excellent. Even brilliant.
The time when I wrote and published a best-selling book in just 6 weeks. And the time I took part in my first marathon with virtually no training.
The list was actually quite long and impressive.
You too have excelled so much already in your life. Have a quick look at your own life and recollect the times you have rocked it.
So you already know you can excel and be the best — but only when you choose to put your mind to it.
“Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well” — John W Gardiner
You already have everything you need to become excellent in your chosen area.
You too can be the boss’s favourite.
You too can strut your stuff on the court.
You too can develop the mindset for excellence.
Also, know that it’s not your fault you haven’t yet excelled as much as you would have liked. No one taught you how.
But now you can. You just have to apply these key strategies:-
1. Focus, Focus, Focus
Single-minded attention to one activity for a prolonged period of time will radically change your life.
So focus on completing one thing at a time.
Plan your time so that you can give each task its due undivided attention.
Block out any distractions such as Social Media, notifications, TV, mobile, emails, visitors and so on.
Ask yourself — what is important, your goal or the distraction?
2. Put on Your Superman Cape -and Start Flying
Some people have a fixed mindset. They wallow in their life always being a drudgery and their cursed fate and bad luck.
Oh, life is so unfair for them.
But you no longer need to live with your sob story.
It’s time to create your new story of excellence.
You can develop a can-do attitude instead. Anything is possible.
A fixed mindset is not for you as you now have a growth mindset.
With your growth mindset, you can now look for smarter ways of doing things. Focus on incremental growth, no matter how small.
Superman was smart, even though he wore his underwear inside out. And he could also fly — and now so can you.
3. Go the Extra Mile
Always give more than is expected of you.
Most people cut corners but from today onwards, you doing shoddy work is a thing of the past.
Give much more than is expected of you. Over-deliver with a smile.
Bring a service mindset to everything you do — and see how your results improve.
Look at every situation in terms of the value you can add. Do things faster, better, and even more cheerfully for everyone in your life — customers, employer, family, friends, and for yourself.
Helping others regardless of what’s in it for you, exceeding expectations and going that extra mile will set you apart from others.
4. Bring Sizzle into Everything You Do
Bring passion and energy into everything you do — especially what you do for a living.
Half-hearted attempts will ultimately show up as mediocrity.
Seek out those things you can get passionate about and use them to create excellence in your life.
Also, be totally committed to what you do, as excellence is only possible only with commitment.
Either find a way to become fully committed to what you’re doing or find something else to do.
Once totally committed, you will be able to work around obstacles.
The moment you get truly committed, you’ll find ways of learning quickly what needs to be done. And you’ll find the right people to help you.
By the way, asking for help is perfectly okay. Allow others to help you excel.
5. Challenge Yourself Daily
Challenge yourself to excel all the time. This will help you build your confidence and competence.
What can you improve on today that you did yesterday?
The person you become in the pursuit of your dream is worth even more than the achievement of that dream.
What can you improve on today that you did yesterday?
Aim high and push to be your absolute best, and then go even beyond that — you are capable of far more than you think!
At the same time, be realistic — don’t set your sights so high that you have no way of reaching your goal.
If I am afraid of doing something, I just have to do it! And I usually manage to do it — and now so can you…
6. Expect the Best of Everyone Around You
By expecting the best from others, you are more likely to get the best from them.
Most important of all, expect the best from yourself.
Become aware of your constant self-talk. Yes, that self-talk.
Talk to yourself in more positive terms — and lessen the negative self-talk.
7. Always Follow Through and Follow Up
So many times you might have left a task unfinished.
The initial excitement wanes and you get bored or simply can’t be bothered.
We have all been there.
But just a little more effort to finish the task will bring big results.
Conversely, only ever start what you know you can finish.
Also, do it right the first time and save yourself a lot of time in not having to go back and fix it later.
Be careful not to aim for perfection. So many people strive for perfection — and end up never starting and not doing anything!
Always strive for excellence, not perfection.
8. Believe in What You do
Everything you do matters.
A life of excellence comes from continually making a contribution to others.
You can’t save the whole world single-handedly (not yet anyway) and though we can’t all be a Gandhi or a Mandela, you can certainly make a difference to one person at a time. So look for ways to contribute.
Ask yourself what special skill or knowledge do you have, that can solve a problem or make the best of a situation?
Knowing that you count will shift your mindset to one of excellence and service.
9. Take Care of Your Rolls Royce
To live a life of excellence, you need to look after your engine — the only one you have.
So it’s time for you to take extreme self-care.
Only by being in top physical and mental state can you have the energy, drive and vitality to excel.
Take regular breaks — work diligently whilst you are at it, but after that put it aside.
Have regular vacations and use that time to reflect on bringing even more excellence into your life.
Remember to eat healthy to get and stay healthy.
10. Become a Leech for Knowledge
You have been through so many experiences in your life already, some which you might even class as negative.
Now it’s time to reframe them.
Every situation you have been through has a learning opportunity — see problems and obstacles as opportunities to grow and excel.
Look around and appreciate excellence whenever you come across it and learn what you can learn from that.
Look for ways of learning from others. Ask questions of others. There is no shame in not knowing something — there are no stupid questions.
See any criticism as a beautiful gift of feedback.
You have access now to so much knowledge and tools online. It’s a no-brainer really — you can learn and develop any skill you choose.
Start Living a Life of Excellence from Today
So there you have it — you need no longer hide and squirm around your high-performing and super-achieving friends.
A mindset focused on striving for excellence will transform your life.
No longer do you need to compare yourself with others. You only need to challenge yourself daily to improve and grow.
Living a life of excellence is not difficult, it’s all about you adopting the right mindset.
Simply decide right now to give everything you do your best shot — and you will be amazed and astounded with what life gives you back.