DRIVEN BY EXCELLENCE

What is the force that is driving you to work?

One of the traits of highly successful people, be they in business, education or spiritual life is that they are driven by the drive to excel.

What does excellence mean?

It basically means giving your very best to whatever activity you do, putting your heart fully in it and being fully present to the activity in front of you.

It doesn't matter if the activity demanding your attention is small or big. In the Niti shastra there is a verse which mentions that a lion whether it attacks an elephant or a rabbit, it attacks with the same intensity. What it means is that for the lion, every attack is equally important. Just like Srila Prabhupada, whether he was speaking to thousands of people or a few people he spoke with the same intensity.

'The difference between ordinary people and extraordinary people is that ordinary people do extraordinary things in an ordinary way whereas extraordinary people do even ordinary things in an extraordinary way.' Actually there is nothing as an ordinary thing, every work is special, if seen in the right perspective.

We have a choice to live a life of mediocrity or a life of excellence. A life of mediocrity is easy but you leaves you unsatisfied but a life of excellence is difficult because it needs focus, effort and channelizing your energies but the result is you feel deep fulfillment.

So our benchmark in life should be excellence. If we are a student let us be the best student we possibly can, if we are a employee let us be the best employee we possibly can and for those practicing spiritual life, if we are a spiritualist let us try to be the best spiritualist we possibly can.

You see, anyway we need to perform certain roles in life, then why not strive for excellence in them.

Our motto should be - OK is not OK, excellence is OK. When someone asks you "How was your chanting today", we should be able to say "Excellent" not "OK". When someone asks you, "How was your study today", we should be able to say "Excellent" not "OK". When someone asks you "How is your life going", we should be able to say "Excellent " not "OK".

A life of mediocrity can be monotonous and a drag but a life of excellence is exciting at every moment. When you live a life based on improving, a life in which you trying to get better everyday, trying to break your own records, the world automatically takes note of you and your name is soon on the success list.

As it is said 'When excellence becomes your habit then success becomes your norm.'

- Achyut Gopal Das

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