Life is the pursuit of excellence.
This is a very different statement from “Be excellent”
In the pursuit of excellence, the focus is on the journey. Whether we achieve excellence or not is irrelevant. Even when we “fail” we gain an understanding of the journey. The experience of the journey is what is valuable. It is the experience that we learn from. It is the experience we can teach and pass on to others.
When learning a new skill, if we are told just “be excellent” we have no chance, it becomes an overwhelming experience we avoid. If we are given an idea of what excellence is and told to close the gap between where we are and excellence we are then willing to go on that journey.
In any endeavor big or small, determine what excellence is, and then do your best to be on a journey to pursue that excellence.