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Almost 15 years ago, I had an awakening in my spirit. The awakening was the need to live a life in and of excellence in every area of my life. I grew tired of trying to be perfect and end up falling short and being just sort of average. I was doing things that were just status quo. This status quo was the norm around me. After going at it for quite awhile, I soon began to realize that for me, perfection was far fetched and being amongst the average was not the “status quo” I wanted to be a part of. Perfection, for that matter, was an expectation that rarely gets lived up to. To be frankly honest, it’s just plain too hard. The other, being status quo, was just too easy and needed little effort. I personally needed something more.

As I pondered my dilemma, I found I could do something to better my outcomes and situations. That something was to strive for “excellence” instead of chasing the illusion of “perfection” and falling into the “status quo” trap.  You see, excellence is a state of mind where you decide within yourself that you will intentionally step it up a notch to move to another level in whatever you do. It’s the notion of doing what you do, but doing it better and to the best of YOUR ability.

Merriam Webster defines excellence as taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. We have to get away from always doing that with our outer appearance. We know how to step it up a notch when we dress to impress. But what about the other areas of your life? How are you going to live your life in a more excellent way? Living up to perfection is not for everyone. And for that matter, neither is just doing the “status quo”.

Well for those of you who want to begin their relocation to the state of mind of excellence, here are 7 tips to help you begin that process.

1. Review your current situation.  Look at your current now – whether it be a job, business, ministry, or whatever it is and take note of where you are now. Literally write it down. It becomes real when you see it on paper (or PDA for the tech savvy).  Make it almost, like a confession of the soul but on paper. Be as specific as possible in what it is that you want to move to excellence.
2. Create a running and workable list. This running and workable list will be things that you want to work on. This will become your main document to pull from when working on your relocation. For example, an item on a list may be: “choose healthier options to eat”.
3. Chose 1 “NOW” thing to focus on. From your running and workable list, choose 1 item that you know you can begin to take action on today. For example, if you are hairdresser and day in and day out you have clients coming in. Since you are in the hair business, you are by right a hair expert. What can you do with that expertise to make it better for your clients? Can you have articles laying around on hair care? Can you host a hair care class? Can you begin consulting with your clients to give them tips on how to better take care of their hair?
4. Prepare and recite the “P’s”. The “P’s” is “proper preparation prevents poor performance”. When you recite this often enough it will become your mantra. You want to make sure your prepare. Remember, you want to move to excellence and that means you have to shy away from the ordinary. Don’t just shoot from the hip. Take some time to develop your plan so that it would roll out as smooth as it can. Yes, again, I encourage you to write it out. Seeing it on paper makes it real. I also see the writing of a plan as a paper trail of what you are doing. You can use this in the future for a blog like this (J). Your plan should be as detailed as the item you have chosen. If your chosen area is to start your own business, then, of course, the plan would probably have to be a little more detailed than a plan for weight loss.
5. Roll it out your new state of “excellence”. Once your plan is set, test it by rolling it out. Back to the example of the hairdresser. Come to the salon with articles in hand. Have them visible so clients can take them. Or, put on your first hair care class. Start your first hair care blog. Just get it out there. The fact that you are doing something beyond the ordinary already puts you in the “excellence” category.
6. Get feedback. Ask your family, friends, clients, or whomever you trust to give you feedback on your new state of excellence. Take their suggestions and critiques and build upon them. Tweak whatever is needed and continue on the path to excellence. Doing this shows that you are serious about your move. This will bring people close to you and they will buy in to what you are doing. This may also encourage someone else to begin his or her own move to excellence as well.
7. Last but not least, celebrate. I also end with a command to celebrate. All work and no play, makes you dull, LOL! So get out there and celebrate your success in a positive way. It will make you feel better and will also have you hooked on creating a better you.

Now, it goes without saying, that once you have completed your first item on your list, continue to move through the list and repeat the 7 phases above. Well, we all know moving from a physical address is not always easy. But, after it’s all done, it’s always worth it. It’s the same when moving your self from “ordinary to extraordinary”. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it.

So, I ask you? When are you relocating?

Until next time – the Queen of Excellence has spoken.

In Excellence I remain,

Nickquolette Barrett B Excellent, Inc.