Commentary: A Standard of Excellence

Understanding “A Standard of Excellence” involves understanding the words “standard” and “excellence”. Words are often used with little thought given to their true meaning. We throw around the word “love” so much that it has lost its meaning. We “love” coffee, our pets, that jacket, those shoes, and even people we have barely known a minute. It stands to question whether we can have “A Standard of Excellence” with out having a true understanding of what it is.

A standard can be defined multiple ways. At one point a standard was a banner carried during times of war, it served as a rallying point, or emblem to gather the troops. It can be defined as a personal flag, one of a royal family, or organization. “Something set up and established by authority as a rule for measure,” is another definition. All of these would be appropriate to use at different times and give an idea of what a standard could be. For our purposes just about all can be applied in different aspects.

More often than not we are given standards for things by an authority. A standard ruler is twelve inches measuring a foot, a standard work day is eight hours, standard pregnancy is said to last for nine months, and your standard date is dinner and a movie. These standards were set by an authority, we do not know who yet we follow them readily. There are even standards set for what people should eat each day created for us. Someone created the standard quantity, weight, extent, duration, value, or quality and we accepted it. We accepted it unconsciously giving no thought to our own ability to create something different for ourselves. Most of us live unconsciously off of and by the standards set by others. We can raise the banner, flag, standard of our own Life. Two last definitions to take note of deal with structure, support, and stability. Standards give us those three things; the question is “to what standard do you hold yourself?” If your standard is excellence then the next step is to find out what it means to be excellent.

Excel, the root word of excellent, comes from the Latin word excellere meaning “to rise, project”. Sounds like we have passed “standard” before getting to define excel or excellent. To excel is to surpass in accomplishments or achievement, to be distinguishable by superiority. Superiority that is not arrogant or egotistical. This superiority speaks for itself, there are no words necessary, it has integrity, is confident, well put together, and moves with purpose. Excelling is going beyond a stated or implied limit set by an authority or established by a custom or tradition, and even past achievements. To excel one must push further than what is asked, transcending what is thought, moving past the norm to reach another level, outdoing your own past, and creating competition. Competition where there is only one person in the game, You. Excelling is continual. It is perpetual. There is no place called Excel City. It is a verb. Breaking through the ceiling called standard, status quo, or good enough creates excellence. It is a mindset, a place where you can live perpetually through excelling, being in motion, moving past yesterday; it takes motion to create excellence.

You are the authority which creates how you will measure the quantity and quality of the time given to tasks, people, and things. You say what a priority is, has value, and the quantity of money, time, and effort given to things in your Life. Only you can exceed standards set by authorities and yourself. Only you can push yourself past the baseline you have created. To have Life worth living, excelling must be one of the stones on which you build all aspects of your Life.

Set A Standard of Excellence in intimate relationships, with family and friends, in money management, with your health, in keeping your home, in dealing with and in your community, in communication, in your business, and see how things begin to come alive in your Life. Raise the Standard. A Standard of perpetual motion, outdoing self to the next level daily – that is the Standard of Excellence. Go beyond the norm, be distinguishable, be excellent.

Not Your Average Love Story Most little girls, as they are growing up, dream of the white picket fence, the husband, and having two children. That is not my story, it did cross my mind, but somehow I knew my family would never be the normal one. My Love Story, began when I saw a little boy at a foster home in October of 2000. When I tell people about meeting him, it sounds like a made for television drama. See when you adopt, the child is born in your heart. The winter began to set in on Cleveland, Ohio; I worked in the Department of Children and Family Services as a social worker. The first children I visited were two girls placed in a foster home. Prior to this case, I had none. In fact, I had a choice between 2-3 other cases and chose this particular one. Single, college graduate, no children, those were my basic stats at the time. As I sat on the couch of the foster parents’ home there was a tiny boy hiding behind the curtains playing peek-a-boo with me and laughing. Soon after his antics with the curtains he crawled up on the couch, sat next to me, and just looked at me. He moved closer, and then closer, eventually he was on my lap. In a moment of freedom I said, “I’m gonna take you home with me.” About a year following that day, his foster mother told me he was available for adoption. Due to making monthly visits to the home for the other children placed there, I had grown attached to hi, and always wanted to know how he was doing. When told me, my heart stopped and I got worried that I would never know how he was or what happened to him. So, I made the choice to adopt him. Single, college graduate, no children, those were my basic stats at the time. Little did I know that day would be a day to change two lives. Jamil, officially, became my son in March of 2003 at the age of 3 years old and our love story is still being written. Adoption, to me is no different than having a natural child in many ways. I question my fitness as a parent and whether I made the “right” decision. And there were times, and still are, when I thought he would be better off with someone else. He would have two parents, a bigger house, a better yard, a dog (like he begs me to get), and other siblings in the home (like he begs me to get). And were it not for the support of other family and friends, we would not have made it this far. He is what I live for now. He is the Love of my Life. When I think about him not being in my life, it is hard to fathom. I received a call from my sister in California, whom he stays with for part of the summer. At the time was nine years old, he was asking about his birth Mother, and I became worried. To let you know, he is has always known he was adopted; he has an album with the names of his birth parents, knows he has siblings and has bet all but one of them. It has never been a conversation that was off limits for him. With that said, she had questioned him on what he would change about his life and he said, “nothing”. He expressed that he loves me, he is happy to be adopted, and he would not change that at all. Neither would I. At every juncture, it has always been my intention to have him be well adjusted. Unlike birth children, Jamil has questions about life that speak to who he is in a different way. Why he is not with his birth family? What happened that his parents were not able to care for him? He has a list of questions of which I can not and would not attempt answer for him. However, as his Mom I can be there to support him in becoming what he wants to be, developing him for the future, and accepting himself. Isn’t that what being a parent is about anyway? Still single, still a college graduate, one child, those are my basic stats. He was not born from me physically, but he was born in my heart. And this is not your average love story. Are you considering becoming an adoptive parent? There are plenty of helpful resources available, listed below: Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption National Adoption Center National Council for Adoption AdoptUsKids Adoption Resources Child Welfare Information Gateway Courageous Choice Adopt America Network Children Awaiting Parents Comeunity Comeunity Resource Listing Children Awaiting Parents

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”

~Henry Ward Beecher

Understanding “A Standard of Excellence” involves understanding the words “standard” and “excellence”. Words are often used with little thought given to their true meaning. We throw around the word “love” so much that it has lost its meaning. We “love” coffee, our pets, that jacket, those shoes, and even people we have barely known a minute. It stands to question whether we can have “A Standard of Excellence” without having a true understanding of what it is.

A standard can be defined multiple ways. At one point a standard was a banner carried during times of war, it served as a rallying point, or emblem to gather the troops. It can be defined as a personal flag, one of a royal family, or organization. “Something set up and established by authority as a rule for measure,” is another definition. All of these would be appropriate to use at different times and give an idea of what a standard could be. For our purposes just about all can be applied in different aspects.

More often than not we are given standards for things by an authority. A standard ruler is twelve inches measuring a foot, a standard work day is eight hours, standard pregnancy is said to last for nine months, and your standard date is dinner and a movie. These standards were set by an authority, we do not know who yet we follow them readily. There are even standards set for what people should eat each day created for us. Someone created the standard quantity, weight, extent, duration, value, or quality and we accepted it. We accepted it unconsciously giving no thought to our own ability to create something different for ourselves. Most of us live unconsciously off of and by the standards set by others. We can raise the banner, flag, standard of our own Life. Two last definitions to take note of deal with structure, support, and stability. Standards give us those three things; the question is “to what standard do you hold yourself?” If your standard is excellence then the next step is to find out what it means to be excellent.

Excel, the root word of excellent, comes from the Latin word excellere meaning “to rise, project”. Sounds like we have passed “standard” before getting to define excel or excellent. To excel is to surpass in accomplishments or achievement, to be distinguishable by superiority. Superiority that is not arrogant or egotistical. This superiority speaks for itself, there are no words necessary, it has integrity, is confident, well put together, and moves with purpose. Excelling is going beyond a stated or implied limit set by an authority or established by a custom or tradition, and even past achievements. To excel one must push further than what is asked, transcending what is thought, moving past the norm to reach another level, outdoing your own past, and creating competition. Competition where there is only one person in the game, You. Excelling is continual. It is perpetual. There is no place called Excel City. It is a verb. Breaking through the ceiling called standard, status quo, or good enough creates excellence. It is a mindset, a place where you can live perpetually through excelling, being in motion, moving past yesterday; it takes motion to create excellence.

You are the authority which creates how you will measure the quantity and quality of the time given to tasks, people, and things. You say what a priority is, has value, and the quantity of money, time, and effort given to things in your Life. Only you can exceed standards set by authorities and yourself. Only you can push yourself past the baseline you have created. To have Life worth living, excelling must be one of the stones on which you build all aspects of your Life.

Set a "Standard of Excellence" in intimate relationships, with family and friends, in money management, with your health, in keeping your home, in dealing with and in your community, in communication, in your business, and see how things begin to come alive in your Life. Raise the Standard. A Standard of perpetual motion, outdoing self to the next level daily – that is the Standard of Excellence. Go beyond the norm, be distinguishable, be excellent.

Who Wants to Be a Millionairey Anyway?

"Millionairey" was used by the grandmother of a friend when she was talking about getting money from a network marketing company. When I heard the story it amused me and I began to understand how our older generations think about things, to a point. A few days ago, while going through The Secrets of a Millionaire Mind, I was reminded of that word "millionairey" and the mindset that went with the thought.

Why would you NOT want to be a "millionairey"? We all have our own stories about what it means to have money. A participant in a program I had the privilege of coaching had a story about how rich people "should" use their money and resented the ways they thought the money was being spent. The great thing was that once the story was unfolded there was freedom around people who are rich, even creating relationships with them. Again, we all have our own stories, it could be that they are mean, have stolen to get it, do not share enough (usually with "us"), have to work too hard, are never with their families, are flashy, do not deserve it, and a whole litany of other things. What there is to look at is why you do not seek to be a Millionaire yourself! God, knows you do not want to be one of THEM.

The fabulous thing is that getting money will only reveal more of who you already are to the World. If you are a stingy, cheap, "poor" person, guess what? You will be a stingy, cheal, Millionaire. If you think people are after your money at your middle class job, guess what? You will surely think that people are after your money if you are a Millionaire. Being a Millionaire only brings money, not character. Character is built over years, not in seconds. Being a Millionaire may be scary because of your character or way of being and story.That is it. The good new is that you can choose now your way of being on the road to Millionaire status.

So, why not be a Millionairey? "What would my family say?", "The government will take most of it", "It's too much work", "That's too much for me to handle", "People will only like me for my money", and "I'm comfortable". Those are only a few that came to mind. A one point someone told made mention that they were not willing to buy a BMW because they were afraid that someone would break into it, steal it or the rims. That same limiting mentality can be seen in their thoughts about money. Being a Millionaire means something, only what you make it mean. What do you choose to make it mean?

I fight with the Millionairey mentality and the questions of what others will think. But the first thin to look at is what it means to me. "Millionaire" to me means freedom, expression, philanthropy, adventure, fun, business, family security, and legacy. Sure, there are many other things, however, those are the ones that come to ind right away. Those are the things that matter. Whether I have a million dollars or not there are always going to be people who talk about me, work to be done around money, taxes to pay, and a level of comfort to maintain. Yet there is a choice to be made. We have free will and choice. What do you choose?

To choose Millionaire takes four things:

1. Recognition that your mindset is not in line with the wealth you have a right to obtain.
2. Choice of being wealthy, better yet, a Millionaire.
3. Declaration to yourself and another of your choice to become a Millionaire
4. Commitment to daily take the steps and behaviors that will lead to being a Millionaire.
   

Millionaires are committed to being rich. Millionaireys find reason not to be and consistently validate them. Which one are you? You choose. Who wants to be a Millionaire?

Unleash Your Life.
Sidney

www.enterprisinglife.com

There is a Limit!

As a coach I enjoy spending time talking about what is possible and how to achieve dreams. Manifesting what you want is a conversation that can get into hocus-pocus kind of stuff. Being on a Law of Attraction call today it occured to me that there are limits to what you can achieve. The limits exist in your mind, they exist in my mind.

T. Harv Eker worte a book called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. There is a conversation about a "financial thermostat". Donald Trump is reported to have gone bankrupt to the tune of $975 million dollars in 1990, no whether or not he actually did is a source of many questions. The point is that whether or not he did be was in debt to the point it was even speculated! What Donald Trump knew was that he may have been down, but not out. Here we are in 2008, he has written a book called The Art of the Comeback (1997) for a reason, Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life (2004), and is now reportedly worth $3 billion. Trump has set his "financial thermostat" to BILLION, not million, or thousand, or hundred! He cannot be a thousandaire, his thermostat does not even register "THOUSAND", unless is being multiplied by "MILLION" or "BILLION".

Our thermostats can be reset, just like in a home. Most of us never think about our "thermostat", we often inherit ours. There are those that transend the setting. How do you reset it? Resting the thermostat begins within. We must reset our inner thought patterns and ways of Being first. Checking what we think, challenging what the things we have been told are true or false, and testing the waters of Life for self. A thermostat can be set on automatic, which is how we usually go through Life. Now, the reseting of the thermostat only happens when someone conscious of the internal temperature chooses to alter it! Who can alter it? YOU. The only limit that is set is YOURS.

Limits can become overcome by stating it. In my training it has been called declaring. Declarations are announcements made with authority with the express intention of manifesting and proclaming a choice. We do it everyday without thinking about it because it has been such a part our lives. Making a declaration usually involves other people. And most people resist letting other poeple in on the Life changing, thought altering things of Life for fear or resistance to being accountable. I, too, am guilty as charged. When we release limits in all areas of Life we begin to reset the thermostat of Life.

The last link to resetting the thermostat is two-fold using the words of Life and speaking with people who use words of Life. Words of Life are those words that speak encouragement, perseverance, accomplishment, accountability, and drive. These are things that forward what you are up to, they are words that push you closer to your goal, they leave no doubt that you are moving forward, and they keep you focused on what you want to accomplish. There are hurdles to every goal, however, it does matter what you say to yourself and what you allow to be said to you! Check to see what you say that limits you and who you listen to that limit you as well. Rest your thermostat with the words you say, hear, and those who surround you.

There are limits to everything, the limits that we set. Reset the thermostat!

King Solomon Unleashed It!

When I woke up this morning, I thought the same things I've been thinking for the past week, "I should be getting up to walk right now". Then, I proceeded to get a little more sleep, turn on the television, and "rest". As a person who takes pride in coaching people to success, it was my day to coach myself to success. Don't we rationalize our own actions well enough that it all seems like the truth!? Well, I went out to get my exercise donning my shorts, shoes, and long sleeve shirt.

When I returned, I sat down ate breakfast and opened a magazine that featured an article entitled "Lessons form the Richest Man Who Ever Lived," by John C. Maxwell, DM. Who is the richest man who ever lived? First, let me say that I was reared in a Christian family, by a divorced single mother of three. My father was more spiritual than religious, without a doubt. Yes, I believe in God, at the same time I cannot be considered a Bible totin', fire 'n' brimstone, hallelujah, Christian. My relationship with God is defined in one word faith. And I've said that to say, the article was about King Solomon who ascended the throne of Israel at the age of twelve, around 974 B.C. The story goes that God appeared to Solomon and offered to grant him one desire. Solomon was concerned for his inexperience and ability to rule, he asked for wisdom to lead the people of Israel. God being impressed by Solomon's unselfishness blessed him with wisdom and wealth. His wisdom, wealth, and success grew beyond his imagination.

Solomon has been seen as a King who was wise, wealthy, and successful because of his diligence in all he did. Ruler from allover requested his wisdom. In the article I saw that there are areas of Life in which I have not been diligent. I've had money and I have not had money. I have had love and lost love. I have had success and I have lost success. However, what I understand is that I have the power to bring it all back to me. Yes, the law of attraction and all of that, at the same time, it is being diligent.

Maxwell made three great points that as a personal and business development professional, I tell my clients and practice personally:
1. Wake up to Reality. Procrastination is the best friend of Some Day and the cousin of Never Ever. We think that we have time on our side. The fact is that if you are not living you are dying. Each day we are closer to one or the other literally and figuratively. Literally, we get closer to death. Figuratively, each day is a choice to either unleash our destiny or cover it up in shame, self-doubt, ignorance, or fear. "Days of inaction add together into unproductive weeks. Weeks of idleness accumulate as meaningless months and wasted years, which are the fruitless products of life filled with regret and sorrow." Give your dreams the opportunity flourish, you may surprise yourself that they can become reality.

2. Define Your Vision. If you have not created a vision for your Life, where are you going? It is easy to just live, go to work, come, home, watch TV, eat, go to bed, and get back up and do it all over again. Yet, you may feel trapped and suffocated. What is your vision? Epictetus wrote "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." It takes first having a vision, then creating the plan to get there. Vision sparks initiative and action. Define your vision, unleash your Life.

3. Effectively partner with others. John Donne, a English preacher and poet was born the third of seven children. By the age of ten, he experienced the death of his father and three sisters. Much of his early life was spent in poverty, depending on the generosity of wealthy friends. It was him who said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." it is entirely understandable where he might have received the understanding that in Life you need others to make things happen. There is no one person who has their dreams come true without first including others in their dreams. It is important to develop a loyal, responsible, and talented group or friends and partners. Having "social capital" will rocket you to greatness!

Living life with purpose and diligence with what God has given you begins your journey to richness, wisdom, and wealth. What I have learned is that to get where I want to go I must first seek wisdom, be diligent in following God-given vision, stay rooted in reality, and involved others in developing our lives. That is what Unleashing Life is about!