Optimism Part 6

This is the sixth article in a series on applying The Optimist Creed to help you succeed in your life and career. You can find all ten points of The Optimist Creed in the first article in this series.

The Optimist Creed, Part 5

“Promise yourself to think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.”

This is an important point. Too many people settle for mediocrity. They take an “it’s good enough” attitude. Good enough is certainly not the best. In my opinion, it is not even good enough.

In 2001, Jim Collins published a great book, Good to Great. The very first words in Chapter 1 are “Good is the enemy of great.” Later, on the first page, he says, “Few people attain great lives, in great part because it is just too easy to settle for a good life.”

And that’s what the fifth point of The Optimist Creed is all about. Don’t just be good, be great. Why not? All it takes is a little more effort.

Here’s a personal example. I have found that blogging is a great way to write a book. I blog everyday, so I have a lot of material. Last summer, I took many of the posts from this blog and tied them together into a book. I was all set to publish it, when one of the people I had asked to read it said, “This is good, but it could be great. It reads too much like a series of blog posts. Your voice doesn’t come through well enough.”

I didn’t want to hear that. I wanted to get the book published. My first thought was, “This is good enough, I don’t want to do a lot of rewriting.” My second thought was, “I can write a great book, why settle for a good one?” So I rewrote the book. The first one wasn’t a total loss. I published it is an e book called "Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success."

I rewrote "Star Power", and changed the title to "Straight Talk for Success". It’s out in both hard cover and paperback editions now. You can get it at your local bookstore or at Amazon.com. I think "Straight Talk for Success" is a great book. We’ll see. It is certainly better that "Star Power".

It’s better than "Star Power" because I took the time to rewrite, to make my voice come through. I thought only of the best, worked for the best, and expected only the best of myself.”

When "Straight Talk for Success" went to the printer, I was proud of what I had written. I think it is great. It is the best I could do. In my heart of hearts, I knew that "Star Power" was good, but that I could do better. Someone challenged me to go from good to great, and I have – in my opinion at least. It will be interesting to see what other people think.

However, for now, I am proud of what I have accomplished. I feel as if I have been true to myself by not settling for something that is merely good when I had the chance to be great by putting in a little more time and effort.n n