Paths to Excellence Thu, Aug 25, 2016

I have recently been re-reading a book that is very interesting to me for a few reasons. The Book of Five Rings was written by a famous Ronin Samurai warrior named Miyamoto Musashi in 1645. He was a swordsman that is known to have beaten 60 men in various duels throughout his lifetime. When someone becomes very skilled and disciplined in things, they seem to gain a deeper understanding from their slice of life. Regardless of what he did being good or not, this man had some great quotes that show his overall perspective.

I interpret this to be: once you realize what it takes to be excellent in one facet of life, you see the path towards being excellent in all areas of your life. This guy put things in the simplest of ways and they go so deep. When I look at what accomplishments I have, I can see a pattern in my actions and thought processes that I assume must be the “way”. Duplicating that is hard and takes a combination of focus, determination, and trusting the process.

Try to think of your own life and where you can apply this…literally everywhere. That’s what the quote is about. Be great in all that you do. Do not just leave this warehouse, where we all apply our absolute greatest effort, and then take your foot off of the gas pedal of life when you clock out. Keep pushing, excel in all that you do. Brush your teeth like a champion, tie your shoes and ratchet your belt like one, as well. Once you see the way, you will see it in all things.

The little things matter just as much as the big ones because you know when you are giving your maximum effort or not. Let’s get all that we can out of this Thursday from this moment until the end of the day when you get a great night’s sleep. Earn it. Let’s Go!!