Finding Success - How to Develop a Commitment to Excellence

To develop a commitment to excellence does not mean you have to strive to be perfect. It does mean striving to be the best you can be at whatever you do and, if others have set a higher benchmark, striving to reach or better that benchmark. This can be the hallmark of your life; this can be what will help you stand out from the crowd. This will mark you as a person of character and substance and will build you a reputation that will make finding success a lot easier. In fact, it is likely success will find you. Keep Your Word Do what you say you will do. This will guarantee you will stand out in both your business and personal life. Whether you are going for a job, applying for a loan or making your wedding vows, the principle of good faith applies. This means the other person should be able to believe you will do what you say you will do. They trust you to do this. Trust is an essential element of our dealings with one another. Our lives run on trust: we trust the mechanic has serviced our car properly; we trust our wages will be paid on time; we trust someone when they say they love us. It is little wonder we become suspicious of someone who breaks that trust. Often we are reluctant to trust them again. If you aspire to excellence, you cannot be one of these people. Keep Your Promises This may seem the same as keeping your word, and it can be, but it is also about not making promises you are not sure you can keep. You may have every intention of doing what you promise, but you may not be able to keep that promise. Whether it is an empty promise to make an impression or to get what you want or it is a well-intentioned promise, if you do not deliver the effect is the same. People will lose confidence in you. They will not trust you. Part of finding success is to avoid making promises you may not be able to keep. The old saying in business, "under promise and over deliver" is as relevant today as it always was. This applies to every aspect of yourlife. Go The Extra Mile Whether you are working for yourself or someone else, making the extra effort to make sure the job is done correctly is important in building trust with the other person. Give all you can to a project or job. Be thorough in your execution by checking and double-checking your work - "Measure it twice; cut it once". Do it with clients and customers or do it with your employer and they will come to trust you. They will come to know they can trust you to do an excellent job. You will be rewarded with more clients and more business or a better job. That's why going the extra mile leads to excellence. While you can name other elements in developing a commitment to excellence, trust is the basic one. One of the first questions that come to mind in dealing with others is, "Can we trust them?" This applies to our business life and our private life. If others have doubts about the answer, finding success will be hard indeed. The level of your success will depend to a large degree on your reputation. Make sure you have a reputation for a commitment to excellence in all you do.