Choose EXCELLENCE over MEDIOCRITY and your entire world will change.

Color Commentary for Monday, February 25, 2013
By E. R. Haas

"You have to learn the rules of the game. Then you have to play better than anyone else."
~ Dianne Feinstein

Last week we discussed the connection between PERSISTENCE and success.

If you are 100% COMMITTED to your personal Mission, and Plans you WILL find a way to achieve the success you desire... if you persist with passion and determination.

If not, you will never live up to your full potential.

This week, we will add another word to your performance vocabulary: EXCELLENCE.

If, at the end of each day, you can honestly say that you did your very best—and that you intentionally chose excellence over mediocrity—you will achieve success beyond your wildest dreams.

Advice: Review the 10 Choices of Intentional Excellence...

"There are countless ways of attaining greatness. But any road to reaching one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity." ~ Buck Rodgers, IBM

Intentional Excellence.

These are two words that will change your life. Choose EXCELLENCE over MEDIOCRITY and your entire world will change.

Why? Because the QUALITY of your RESULTS will shift from so-so to outstanding... differentiating YOU from the herd.

Positively or negatively, quality always stands out.

This week, take some time to think about the quality of your life as it is today, and write down three things that you KNOW need to be improved this year... things that would dramatically improve the quality of your life now and in the future.

They can be as simple as improving your earning power... a better education... a larger home... more time for you and your family.

Or, they can be more complex such as peace of mind... a better relationship with a brother or sister... or a deeper, more spiritual relationship with the Almighty.

Some Sage Advice...

If you want to live your BEST life ever... if you want to live up to your full potential... then think about how you are using your time.

If you want to improve the quality of your life, improve how you spend your time. This week, focus on the T element of TQ!

TQ Factor 9A asks if you "value every precious minute in the day?" Do you?

Time is the most precious gift of all.

Ask anyone facing a serious accident or illness, or an important deadline. Ask any parent watching their little girl all grown up and graduating from high school. You must learn how to become accountable for every minute in your day, because each day spent, is a day gone forever. Concentrate your time on only those things that produce the greatest reward and satisfaction to you.

This is just one track from our fabulous OPTIMIZE Personal Workshop. If you don't own the complete collection, maybe it's high time to get with the program!

TQ Factor 9A's CONTRIBUTION to your performance...

A high commitment to TQ Factor 9A suggests you are someone who reaps the greatest value possible from every passing minute. Realizing that when it's over -- it's over, you're always aware of how much time is left on the clock. This awareness of the fleeting passage of time keeps you accountable for each minute in your day. Because you are committed to your roles and focused on compelling goals, you clearly know where to invest your time. This helps you put every hour to its highest and best use. It also helps you eliminate activities that steal time away from more desirable, more rewarding activities.

TQ Factor 9A's COST to your success...

A lack of commitment suggests you are someone who takes time for granted. It is only too common for your day to be over well before you realize it. You have trouble pointing to any progress from last week, and have no idea if your time was spent wisely or not. Entire days can be wasted on activities of only minimal interest or value to you. Opportunities are lost, because you think you can get to them tomorrow -- or you're always scrambling to complete projects at the last minute. On occasion, you are struck by the precious value of time, but the feeling is gone before the day is over. And you're too soon old -- and too late smart.

The BENEFIT of choosing to do Factor 9A a bit more frequently: You have more power...

You get a greater return on your time when you squeeze maximum value out of every minute in the day. You accumulate performance positives like "Vigilant, Accountable and Watchful" -- immediately moving you towards the results you expect.

What happens when you FAIL to consistently do Factor 9A? You have less power...

Huge chunks of time are lost when you stop valuing every precious minute in your day. Negatives like "Unmindful, Unconscious and Inattentive" start to take their toll on your performance -- quickly moving you away from the success you want.

"Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Increase Your Excellence Factor!

Remember, there are tangible RESULTS... and then there is everything else. Become known for producing superior RESULTS and you will become successful beyond your wildest dreams.

Don't and you won't.

As you go through the week, take a hard look around your life. Don't filter your observations through the "good enough" filter. Expect more!

Imagine what you life will be like when you are actually living what's most important to you.

Commit to the INTENTIONAL pursuit of EXCELLENCE.

Everything will change.

If you haven't already, right now is the perfect time to take a baseline assessment of your EXCELLENCE FACTOR. I urge you to take the full 100 question TQ Test to baseline where you are now... and what you will need to do differently to achieve your goals this year. -- E.R. Haas, CEO