LTL 126: Excellence: We Are What We Repeatedly Do

As you know, this is the third episode in a series on excellence. If you missed the previous episodes, here are the links to Episode 124 and Episode 125. This is a fun series for me and hopefully, you find key learnings along the way. I am always looking for what I didn't know previously and this episode is no exception. The title for this episode actually drops from a quote mistakenly attributed to Aristotle. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Unfortunately, he is not the one who originally came up with that clever quote. And while the words are not Aristotle's, the thoughts certainly are his. So, in this wrap up of the topic, I will share a few helpful examples of his thoughts in practice. And just to clarify, the quote, is accurately attributed to Will Durant. He wrote those words in a book he titled "The Story of Philosophy."

Aristotle and Will Durant

In it, he took a couple of different thoughts from Aristotle. The first is a quote which said,

"As it is not one swallow or a fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy."

Aristotle

I find those words compelling and want to hang onto the thought for a moment. A swallow or a fine day is not responsible for making the season. And it isn't a day, or a moment, that is responsible for making a man blessed and happy. I would also argue that it isn't a day or moment that makes a man cursed and miserable. Certainly, we often exaggerate the impact of a single moment, positively or negatively.

And the other quote speaking of virtues said,

These virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions…

Aristotle

So Mr. Durant's combination of the two phrases produced the now-famous quote misattributed to Aristotle where Will said,

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Will Durant

The words communicate an important message to us who are trying to develop excellence. This isn't a one-time event. Subsequently, excellence is formed in what we repeatedly do.

A Holistic Commitment To Quality

Robert Glazer from Acceleration Partners sends a weekly email that he calls Friday Forward. In a recent email, he describes excellence as a holistic commitment to quality. Additionally, he says that inherent in the principle of excellence is improvement. For instance, to emphasize this point, he uses an example of being an excellent horse and buggy repair shop…in 2019.

Can that really be considered excellence? On this point, he and I might disagree. Because if you have attended a parade recently, or at any point in your life, it's likely you saw a horse and buggy. There are still cadres of enthusiasts who love buggies. If you have a reputation for being excellent at restoring buggies, is it possible that you have an audience to serve with your talents? I would say the answer is a qualified 'Yes.'

That talent is not unlike those who restore cars or build hot rods. The passion is deep. And these men and women dedicate a large part of their life to their craft. I don't know if they could ever experience adequate compensation for their talent. Yet, I seriously doubt any of them would stop doing it just because they could make more money doing something else.

If you are able to offer a valuable service to a niche interest group, then it's possible that your excellence can secure revenue for performing your talent. Everyone has to earn a living, so it's not like money is not an issue. I'm not convinced it's the main issue when you are repeatedly practicing your craft. Because I'm not convinced you can dedicate this level of effort to something you aren't truly passionate about.

Change And Re-examination

In fairness to Robert, this isn't his point. His point is that change and reexamination are necessary to determine whether this is still relevant or could be done better. Imagine for a moment being content with DOS or Windows 3.1. Or the first luggable phone from Motorola… Those things were great for that moment but weren't meant to be the answer for all time.

To clarify, this is why yesterday's successes are not sufficient for today's problems. A constant cycle of ideation, validation, implementation, evaluation, and iteration or change where we repeatedly do is necessary to incubate excellence. You must repeatedly do. Create a habit.

Do you