You’ll always find the evidence you’re looking for.
I was having a conversation with my son recently about excellence. He told me other people aren’t like me; they think good enough is good enough. Fair point, and it’s true.
Further into our discussion, I told him how years ago I had seen a video of Tiger Woods describing excellence in his habits (I’d call these practices). He talked about making his bed no matter where he traveled, whether at a home or in a hotel, that excellence was the discipline of doing things consistently over time.
I adopted his practice and applied it to the leadership teams I worked with, including a ground-rule suggesting you always leave things (people, places, events) better than you found them.
I also shared that I’ve accumulated many practices from studying people who are masterful. I work to keep those which align with my definition of excellence. He still challenged that this was a rare quality. I agreed.
In a world where you can accumulate evidence showing the benefits of discipline or excellence, people still often settle for the easy path. They compare themselves to others that are doing the same so they feel good about fitting in and settling for average.
In my life, I choose to seek the evidence for mastery; the relentless pursuit of excellence and impact. You’ll always find the evidence you seek. Choose wisely.