Something where you don’t care how long it takes. Something that will be great when it’s finished but nobody’s waiting for it, nobody needs it today.

And everything else, everything that takes time and effort that you could be using for your project in excellence has to be done “good enough”. If you have a relationship and something else that you want to be excellent, you have to notice how far you’re willing to settle for “good enough” for your relationship. You need some kind of balance. More so if you have children. How much time with your children are you willing to sacrifice for your excellent project? Your children will mostly create themselves regardless, but how much do you want your support for them to be just good enough? It will have to be to some extent, because they aren’t going to wait while you figure out how to do things perfect for them. Everything you say and do is a new first draft.

But perfection is an illusion that we know we can not attain every time we do something. If we could then it would become normal and not perfect. The essence of art is to try to capture the seeds of perfection within your art, be it painting, music, writing, etc.

You may write a book that one person reads and is deeply moved by yet another person, at a different point in their life, might read the very same words and be unmoved.

The perfect work of art is one that touches everyone on a deep and profound level regardless of that person’s own subjective understanding of the work.

This post really hit home for me and I especially loved the section about “The Little Things”. More specifically, this quote “Making something good is usually about getting a few big things right, but excellence is about refining all of the little things”. I liken it to developing my horse-man-ship and being in Information Technology for so many years… the fancy stuff comes from solid fundamentals.

Great post Chris!

But, A) You are a samurai. I am waiting expectantly for your book! B) Remember ‘War of Art’; the greater the resistance, especially at the finish line, the more important the victory.

Kill it, baby! Own it, man.

P.S. Since my birthday is on Nov. 17th, I let that start my review/planning process. That way, during the holiday when things go crazy, I can roll with it because the review/planning process is pretty much done. I all it November-of-Necessary-Planning, so that I can enjoy a December Down-time. BAM!

Please let us know how your work on your book goes as you finish revisions. And thanks so much.

I should really lift my game, in all areas of my life. Work, study, financial responsibility – the lot.

I think excellence in character can also be worked toward. I know there are parts of me that I’m not happy with yet, and so I try to develop these areas often.

What am I happy with? Frankly, not much! It’s time to lift the bar in all areas of my life.

Looking forward to hearing about your review process, and reading your book (if I can get it here, that is!)