EXCELLENCE IS NOT RANDOM.

It is also more than a short-term ambition, accident, or accomplishment.

It is developed by design and achieved by setting and tenaciously pursuing high, competitive goals.

The greatest champions in history have all had a long-range vision and plan of what they wanted to accomplish in tandem with a complete daily devotion to their specialization.

Having daily or weekly improvement goals to meet will help ensure that you are always working right.

Stay focused on performing daily acts of excellence in the face of temptations to get sidetracked.

The Champion’s Mind ~ Jim Afremow, PhD

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FROM: LET YOUR MIND RUN by DEENA KASTOR

At the core of many of his stories was a distinction between success and excellence. Success was “having“: money, awards, status. Excellence was “being“: living your values, having them guide your daily life. Pursue excellence, Coach (Joe Vigil) would say, and success will follow.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV ~ Bible)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

 

In Pursuit

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There are no shortcuts when it comes to fitness. You have to make an investment and stay committed. Lifelong changes are a series of daily commitments strung together. You must recommit every day and stick with it for the long haul. Exercise is work, and sweat is the sign that you are working. (The Athlete’s Way ~ Christopher Bergland)

The Long View & Baby Steps

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Paradoxically, it’s the emptiness of things that lets us glimpse their full capacity. Most musical instruments are hollowed out, because if they weren’t, there would be no music. Guitars are hollowed out. String instruments are hollowed out. Drums are hollowed out. Reed instruments are hollowed out. This is a great example of the necessity of emptiness in order to make music. It’s true with our lives. Each of us is an instrument that experience hollows out in order to have our souls release their song.
(The Endless Practice ~ Mark Nepo)

Of Music and Paradox

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Life must be lived with a writer’s courage. Just as a blank page cannot be improved, nothing can be done with an unlived, untried life. To dare to live will involve mistakes and missteps. You and I will end up with choices we regret, opportunities we missed, words we wish we could go back and say or leave unsaid. Perfection is impossible. But a rough draft, no matter how flawed, sits within reach of an artist’s redemption.
Michele Cushatt ~ Undone, A Memoir

Live, Laugh, Love

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In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Happy Wanderer.”

It’s time…actually it’s way over due. A road trip is the only thing that can cure this need for escape; this lust for adventure; this hunger for new vistas; this thirst for conquest; this drive to nowhere; this drive to everywhere. To the land where clocks and calendars and phones have no power, to distract, to cast and reel the breath of life out of me.

I need to get in the car and drive…away…fast…without a rear view mirror. Where will I go? It doesn’t matter…north, south, east, west? Pick one. What? Only one? I want them all!  What shall I pack? I don’t need much…my joggers, a GPS, some music, gas in the tank, money in the wallet, pedal to the metal…away I go in a cloud of dust. Destination? Nowhere just yet, anywhere but here. Time of arrival? Depends on when I run out of go; out of drive; out of stress. It depends on all those things that push and propel me to get in the car and drive away. How many hours? How many days? Oh what luxury to drive to anywhere for weeks on end before being recalled to the place of my beginning. Such fantasy!

One of these days…perhaps soon. I’m going to get in my car for no other purpose than to drive; and I’ll say to myself…today is the day. Let’s just drive…away.

 

Let’s Just Drive…Away

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Prayer is the filter through which we view our worlds. Prayer provokes us to see the life around us in fresh, new ways.

To pray in the midst of the mundane is simply and strongly to assert that this dull and tiring day is holy and its simple labors are the stuff of God’s saving presence for me now.

Wisdom from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today ~ Joan Chittister

Pray…For Refreshed Perspective

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