Just Pick One
I have a talk coming up later today. I couldn't be more excited about this one, and it will be fun to dive back into the topic of excellence again. At the end of the talk, I'm going to challenge the audience to lean hard into excellence. Not on everything, though. Pick one thing to become excellent at, then once they've moved the needle, pick another. After all, if we try to be excellent at everything at the same time, we'll ultimately be excellent at none.
This is the same principle I coach people through with their personal finances. If they try to do all things at once, they will inevitably fail. However, if they choose one or two things to focus on, they can (and will!) crush it! I don't need people to become excellent budgeters, excellent savers, excellent givers, excellent spenders, and excellent investors at the same time. Doing so would be foolish.....and futile. Instead, I usually try to help them become excellent budgeters first. Then, once they've gained traction there, it's easy to add the next.
The same principle goes for financial priorities. Let's say we're trying to save for a vehicle, go on a big vacation, finish the basement, and pay for our kids' tuition all at the same time. In many cases, it's a recipe for failure. We'll try and try, and possibly accomplish none of them. However, if we prioritize and focus our time, energy, and dollars, we can crush one....then another.....then another. The result we're seeking, but a different (and better) path to get there.
Excellence doesn't happen by trying to get better at everything all at once. It happens by giving an inordinate amount of energy to one specific thing, over and over. Then, and only then, can we become excellent at something else. Find your next excellence to pursue, then lean hard. Give it all the attention it needs. Then, and only then, move on to the next.
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