Excellence begins with effort.

Incredible effort in all aspects of life

During my time spent in Asia, one of the most remarkable things I recall about the Japanese culture was how 100% effort was put into every aspect of life. It was truly inspiring to see individuals take pride in activities that most take for granted. Restaurant staff, for example, offer impeccable service, even though many servers work for minimum wage and tips are not accepted.

On a personal level, as a former athlete, I can remember repeated instances of hearing the phrase:

“You can’t teach effort.”

A good example of this would be the sport of baseball.  Neither Japan nor South Korea have athletes as physically gifted as their American counterparts. Yet, year after year, they are more successful during tournaments like The World Baseball Classic.

WHY?

Well, success starts with developing good habits. Good habits begin by doing the little things right.  Put incredible effort into small things that may seem mundane. Eventually, those positive habits will be evident in all endeavors; at which point success will be inevitable.  By consistently giving complete effort in all things attempted—failure no longer becomes an option.