Excellence Lives On

A few weeks ago while leaning against a wall I heard a quote. I cannot remember it exactly now but the point remains the same. The person speaking quoted Joe Paterno, venerable football coach at Penn State University. The quote sounded something like this. Those who strive for something great frequently never achieve excellence and they are constantly worried about losing what they have. While those who strive for excellence frequently accomplish something great in their quest for excellence.

I found this message intriguing. That message pervades as I write this column sitting in a coffee shop. I’m surrounded in an environment of a corporation that did nothing except strive to give people a great tasting product and yummy treats. They now have people all over the world purchasing and drinking lattes and cappuccinos by the score.

This doesn’t mean that I agree with all of their business practices. I know the price of coffee has been kept low over the last few years yet the price of coffee at the shop keeps going up. But, this place has great coffee and I always know I’m going to get an excellent product.

Back to the message in the quote, I took it to heart. I’ve read much about people who build personal empires or rise up from the ashes and right all that wronged them in life. I’ve also seen people who continue to bathe in squalor. The success stories always mean more. They always say to me that I can do it. I can do it. I have to figure out what I want and then go for it.

I’ve written before about greatness. I strive to become something more than I’ve ever been. Currently I’m about 60 lbs overweight. I’m out of shape and up until recently I haven’t worked for 3 years. I can correct each and every one of these things if I choose to do it, if I strive for excellence.

For me excellence is the idea that I set my own expectations and it’s up to me whether or not I meet them. It’s a process. If I work at this process of excellence who knows what may happen at the end?

At work I simply see everyone as a peer with different sets of responsibilities. Not everyone agrees with me but I reconcile my beliefs with others’ expectations or decide to move on. I think this view of my coworkers allows me to expect more of them in a way that’s conducive to higher achievement. I view them positively. Therefore they act in a more positive way. I think this is an excellent way to see the situation.

I used to strive for something great to happen. While in Vancouver I spent time with a man who just wanted money. That’s all he wanted. He fleeced people and shafted them in any way he could. He didn’t care about the people with which he worked. He just wanted money. He thought that if he had money he could travel the world and be happy. He strove for something great. Having someone give him $3 million would be great but he didn’t do much to get it.

I must strive for excellence. If I strive for excellence at all times with my writing then great things will happen. My plan is to write this column, get it self-syndicated, write a novel and then become a public speaker. But first I must be an excellent writer in my own way. My responsibility is to create something that touches people while I help myself. That’s why I share my experiences. That’s why I write.

Great things can fizzle out. However, excellence remains.

Thanks for reading to the end.

I've Been a Failure

Sorry it's been so long since I posted anything. I wrote something a couple of weeks ago and have edited 4 columns so far and my editor hasn't finished her work on them. I thought I would post some lyrics I wrote to a song. I realize this is total bunk but I will have something up in a day or so. Let me know what you think of the lyrics.

The name of the song is, "I'll Be Seein' You." They are currently unedited but bare with me.

I met her in a coffee shop where I invited her out for a drink
She told me to meet her at a topless bar that’s when I really started to think
We spent that night in a smoky room with shadows all around
Everywhere around us was noise but I couldn’t hear me a sound

She took my hand and she held it tight and leaned in close to my ear
She said babe lets take a walk and get ourselves out of here
We walked all night under that moon and shining sound of the stars
All the while she just held my hand and I just looked for her scars

I found myself walking up the street and she told me we were close
I looked at her and I raised my brow and shivered down to my toes
I asked her what do you mean and she told me that I knew
I knew right then that I understood and knew what I would do

If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be leaving you

We wound up there outside of her place and she asked me up inside
I found my self a little nervous and a little scared inside
Her place was small hardly any room but she said she lived alone
I knew I wasn’t the first man in that place but then I was the one

We sat in the middle of the room and she leaned in for a kiss
That look in her eyes and that faraway place man they were hard to miss
She told me to tie her up and then she started to laugh
I asked her if she was joking and I saw her through the bottom of her glass

If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be leaving you

She sat right here with expecting eyes and she lit another smoke
I sat right there with fear in my heart and I wished was a joke
When I finished she was hardly done and surely told me so
I said now babe we can be friends but it’s really time to go

I looked at her as I started to leave and I saw her full of tears
I wanted to hold her close I wanted her to be near
I left that day I got up and went but never stopped thinking of her
She was such a woman I gotta admit and I’ve never found another
If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be leaving you

I find myself alone these days maybe 15 years gone past
Many women have come and went but I’ve found myself at last
I’ve gotta find my way back to her at least that much is clear
All I can think of is her perfect face and how I left her in tears

I headed out of town with long road ahead and stop to get a drink
And who did I find sitting at that bar my mind could hardly think
That woman from my long lost past she sat there all alone
Her face looked weathered and her clothes weren’t new but she was my own

I went up to her and I said hello mind if I buy you a drink
She just smiled and nodded and I found myself at the brink
She asked me if she knew me from somewhere and I nodded my head
I told her how I left her standing teary eyed and we never went to bed

If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be leaving you

The smile was gone from her face and her eyes they shown with fear
She asked my why I was talking to her and why was I here
I told her that I wanted to find here and I didn’t know where to start
I decided to stop for a drink and I found her in this bar

She looked at me and she shook her head and she started for the door
I called after her and I asked her her name and she got really sore
I told her that I never knew and stayed for another while
I told her that mind was in love and I want to give her a try

She stood there looking at me through the eyes of a girl
I told her that never stopped thinking about her all over this world
And then I told her that I wanted to be hers no matter what it took
I pulled her close and said in her ear lets write another book
I wanna be with you…..

If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be seein’ you

If you find yourself standing beside the road thinking what have I done
You look back at the mess you’ve made and whether you gotta run
You sit right down and play with your head and you find out that it’s true
All you can think of and all you can say is what you gonna do
When it’s true… I’ll be seein’ you