Mediocrity to Excellence

Rarely do people move from mediocrity to excellence in on giant step. They get there by taking numerous small steps. That’s improvement. But, the small improvements you make day by day can and do accumulate like compound interest. Eventually, they will add up to excellence… — Nido R. Qubein

Unfortunately, most people do not save money. If you are not one to save money then you would not be one to think about or be aware of the principle of compound interest. If we were taught in school how to manage money, then we would learn about compound interest and how this can and does work to our advantage. Learning about the principle of compound interest would help us to understand how this compounding principle can work in every area of life and how tenacity is one of the keys to why some make it and some do not.

A tenacious person is the one that continues in spite of being tired, in spite of the pain, in spite of a lack of sleep, in spite of what may be going on around them. They have the grip of a bull dog and will not let go of what it is they want to have or accomplish. Tenacious means: keeping a firm hold; not readily relinquishing a position, principle or course of action; persistent. They will endure and their continued efforts will accumulate and become all that is necessary to achieve excellence.

The problem with most people is, if it doesn’t happen quickly enough, they get discouraged and quit. They do not realize with the next swing they might break up the large rock they have been hammering on for days. You see they have hammered for days on the same rock hoping for and looking for a crack, but because they don’t see one, they think nothing is happening, so they quit. The truth is, the blows they are delivering each day are taking effect and they are weakening the integrity of the rock and soon, one final blow will cause the rock to break either in half or into smaller pieces. It would be the compounding effect of the hammering, that would cause the rock to eventually break up and give way as intended. Instead of staying with it, they give up and, although the rock is weaker, the one doing the hammering will never see the results of their work because they quit to soon.

The same it is for each little step we take in learning something new. At first the steps are very small, but after much practice the steps begin to get larger. This will not happen unless we stay with it. Just like compounding interest will not happen to our money if we do not leave it in place long enough for the interest to accumulate. As an example if you save one dollar a day for forty years with no interest the amount would be $14,600. If you saved the same dollar for forty years with 10.79% interest, the amount is $211,059.85. As Mr. Qubein stated, EVENTUALLY, the small steps will add up to excellence in the same manner small amounts of money can add up to large amounts through the principle of compounded interest IF it stays in place long enough.

Bottom line, set a course and stay at it. Keep taking the necessary steps and you will find those steps will be accumulating in a big way toward the goals you have set for your life. They will all add up to the excellence you seek. All things will work together for your good.

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox