Striving towards Excellence

- Robin Sharma

Just read a quote from a Cadillac ad in the latest issue of GQ. Quotes actor Andy Garcia as saying: "It's important, when going after a goal, to never lose sight of the integrity of the journey." He's right. The journey to any result - whether that result is being ridiculously good at what you do for a living or breathtakingly great in the way you conduct your life - is just as (if not more important) than the end.

I guess what I'm inviting you to reflect on is that the climb offers you far more value than getting to the mountaintop. Why? Because the climb toward your goals shapes your character and offers you opportunities to grow and tests you to see how much you want to win. It's the climb that serves to teach you and evoke the greatness that inhabits you. You get to develop The Qualities of Greatness like perseverance and courage and resilience and patience.

Sure, getting to your dream feels wonderful. I'll agree with you on that. But it doesn't bring you the same gifts as the journey to the dream does. We learn more from the times that test us than we do from times of success.

So the next time you feel impatient or frustrated or hopeless en route to the professional and personal life that you’re committed to creating, remember that precisely where you are might just be the best place you could possibly be. And just maybe-the journey is a richer place to be than the destination.