Why you should always pursue excellence

**Updated for 2023**

What does it mean to pursue excellence? Moreover, how do you even define excellence? After all, where we start matters. This post is a sister to another post up here – talent vs. tenacity – which is better?

In some ways, talent and tenacity are amplified by pursuing excellence. To that end, then, let’s start with the definition of excellence.

“The quality of being outstanding or extremely good” is the definition according to Oxford Languages – the online dictionary that comes up when you Google a word. So, excellence is akin to being outstanding or extremely good.

What that means then is to pursue excellence is to pursue being outstanding at something. Since I believe you should always pursue excellence, you should always seek to be outstanding.

Why it matters

Of course, there are going to be some who ask why it matters. After all, scores of people do the bare minimum to simply get by and nothing more. I doubt there is a person alive who doesn’t know someone like this. Why then, the thinking goes, should you be any different?

Reason number 1: It’s simple: because you can. I’ll bet volumes could be written about people who missed opportunities because they were lax, trifling, happy with the status quo, etc. While stuck in their comfort zone, opportunities passed them by. Conversely, I suspect there are stories galore of those who were given tremendous opportunities because they pursued excellence at something others consider trivial.

For example, I have met several people during my career who’ve told amazing stories of success simply because they followed this reason. I recall hearing how a guy became superintendent because he did the best he could while working as a foreman: always taking the jobs assigned no matter what they were. Another became a Project Manager because he started low with the company he worked for, kept his nose to the grind, and pressed on pursuing excellence. I have heard numerous stories of apprentices who, getting ready to graduate their apprenticeship, begin running work because they pursued excellence.

Moreover, the best time to start pursuing excellence is like the best time to plant a tree: 20 years ago. The second best time? Now. What better way to start out your career than by pursuing excellence from the jump? Your reputation, work ethic, communal standing – all WILL proceed you – for good or bad.

Reason number 2: Because you want to excel at something. If you’re surprised about this, then you likely aren’t familiar with a large portion of mankind. Think about it for a minute: how many do you know who are active in not pursuing excellence? Put another way, how many people do you know who expend energy to not succeed? It might sound strange but stick with me here – there is a point.

Scores of people work harder at not being excellent than they do in their pursuit of it. This baffles me, especially since the work is going to get done – so why not do it in such a way that makes you look good also? Why work to a degree that’s MORE work AND makes you look lazy?

Instead, we would do well to work to the best of our ability and, as this reason states, because we want to excel at something.

Have you ever noticed many entrepreneurs do just that – work with a singlemindedness and determination that is remarkable? They desperately want to excel at something (usually, it’s something they already have a passion for) and use that to fuel them further. Consider the likes of Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, for example. Missing is the coveted college degree, and in its place is determination and the pursuit of excellence. Granted, these men aren’t in the construction industry, but the overall lesson is the same: they pursued excellence, and during their careers, they found it.

And before we move on, the construction industry has plenty of its own examples of those who have pursued excellence because they wanted to excel at something. Those hands who are highly sought after – even by other companies while they are steadily employed? Those guys who come out of the field, start a company, and forge on? You guessed it: they pursue excellence because they want to succeed and be the best they can be.

Reason number 3: You never know who is watching. There are some amazing stories out there of people getting opportunities because they were doing the best they could – pursuing excellence – and someone else noticed. If the first two reasons aren’t your cup of tea, then perhaps this one can propel you to pursue excellence.

 

By now, hopefully, you have a decent understanding of why you should pursue excellence. Although I only listed three, there are numerous other reasons people pursue it – I simply listed the ones I believe have the most impact. For example, someone might list “to make someone proud” as one of their reasons – and that’s great. It is not as widely adaptable as I’d like, so it doesn’t make the cut. I feel as though the ones I have listed above are more applicable across a wide variety of people, and hope they can relate. The real issue, as far as I can tell, is to find the reasons YOU would use as fuel to pursue excellence and then get at it!

Real Examples

There are examples of everything out there; we would do well to observe and learn what we can

I’m not sure why: there is something about famous people that the rest of the world seems to look at in awe – and remember. It has to be the reason why so many know a lot about a famous person and at the same time so little that affects them on a daily basis. It’s like self-medication to a degree.

What better way, then, to reinforce this concept of pursuing excellence than to drum up some famous examples for us to learn from?

Brian Acton

In pursuit of excellence, he created WhatsApp

While the name may not be familiar, the app he created likely is: WhatsApp.

His story is intriguing. He worked for Yahoo! and was looking for a new gig. He decided to apply to work at Facebook and Twitter. After getting rejected by both, he finds himself with time to partner up with Jan Koum and create the popular WhatsApp. This was in 2009. In 2014 – just 5 short years later – Facebook bought the app for $19 BILLION. Yeah, you read that right. His pursuit of excellence, in the face of failure and rejection, net him A LOT of money. Pursuing excellence has definitely been worth it for him and his co-founder.

JK Rowling

JK Rowling wrote arguably the best fiction series in a century

One of my favorite authors in this generation, JK Rowling, has enjoyed immense success with the wizarding world of Harry Potter. It isn’t just the story either; although complex and fluid, her writing is fantastic. Even Stephen King had high praise for her.

While she has achieved substantial success, has earned over 1 billion dollars, and has created from scratch a mysterious and enchanting world, she definitely put the work in and pursued excellence. How? She was rejected 12 TIMES before a publisher accepted it. (Imagine being the 12 publishing houses right now – no doubt there was some explaining to do).

What’s more, after the Harry Potter series concluded, she began to write under the name Robert Galbraith. Why? Many writers choose a surname to avoid their own name being saturated. JK Rowling has MORE than enough money – so it isn’t that. It’s because she likes to write – and is excellent at it. In her own words: “I wanted it to be just about the writing.”

 

Stephen King

Stephen King has become synonymous with horror novels

Speaking of Stephen King, I doubt there are many who do not know the name – or what he is famous for. He has over 60 books published and, by any measure, is successful. Clearly, he has pursued excellence and honed it over the course of time.

What many do not know, however, is how many failures and rejections he received before he finally found success. Before he sold his first short story, he received 60 rejection letters. Wait – wasn’t he an excellent writer before the rejections? It’s very likely he was, but it also just as likely he continued to pursue excellence in the literary world, each rejection fueling that pursuit even more. And, as a result, we all know what happened: his pursuit of excellence paid off. He became one of the most successful writers of all time.

There are many other examples we could glean from – Jim Carrey, Jewel, Thomas Edison – Seriously, the list could go on and on – but the point I want to drive home is this: Of all those listed and even those who I haven’t, the pursuit of excellence comes in many shapes and forms. It’s showing up for work with the best attitude; it’s writing one more page; it’s trying one more time; it’s failing over and over but not letting it define you. The pursuit of excellence may be many things but must be met with tenacity and intentionality.

Talent, tenacity, passion, opportunity, and the pursuit of excellence

By now, I think the point is clear: there are many reasons why we should pursue excellence, many of which have nothing to do with being rich and famous (although it certainly helps). Rather, there are other, more important growth reasons for doing so. Personal growth is a big one, as is what you are interested in, but a word of caution here: be careful not to deluge yourself in pursuing excellence in passion and forgo opportunities. Passions are great but can also derail a person professionally. You can find more information on Passion vs. Opportunity and shore up your mindset before investing in the pursuit of excellence. Trust me, taking the time to understand why you are doing something will help you along the way. Better yet, listen to Mike Rowe here: “Never follow your passion, but always bring it with you.”

You can check out the other articles – Passion vs. Opportunity and Talent Vs. Tenacity or more information. They are definitely worth a read for anyone who wants to improve themselves.

To that end, I have an open-ended question for all who have taken the time to read: What are some of the reasons that YOU have used to pursue excellence?