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Friday, September 7, 2007

Excellence

A few quotes on the subject.....

The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right. Edward Simmons

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.

Some men dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable you to attain the success you seek. Mario Andretti

One of the rarest things that a man ever does is to do the best he can. Josh Billings

No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount of excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. Charles Kendall Adams.

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi

It's a funny thing about life; If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you will often get it. W. Somerset Maugham



One of my pet peeves with music, television and other forms of entertainment is the lack of excellence. It seems that the "general" public would rather be subjected to the lowest form of mind numbing trivia than to fight for the purest form of entertainment - that which inspires.

I'll save other forms of entertainment for another day; for today I want to discuss music. Have you thought about the difference between music in the 40's and music today?

I love entertainment from the 40's - 60's. There were efforts during that time that were less than excellent, but the concentration of thought was toward "excellence".

Last night I rented a DVD of Nat King Cole. I'm sure a lot of you wouldn't agree that it was an "exciting" night of viewing, but I enjoyed the simple yet excellent talent. Just a man and a microphone and his ability to take me to tears. Within moments I was not only remembering my first date with Ron but I could remember the smell of the crisp fall air. Talent is a wonderful thing of beauty.

I heard Luciano Pavorotti passed away. I was reading about him on line. "Domingo, a friend, paid tribute to Pavarotti by hailing the "God-given glory of his voice."

Contrast that to most of the music of today. They have to mask it with seductive costumes, outlandish dancing and pyrotechnics. The accompanying instruments have to reach the highest decibel in order to drown out the singers. Most of the singers play by ear and wouldn't dare do the Andy Williams thing and sit on a stool center stage and sing without accompaniment to the audience.

Real talent in any area of our life doesn't need to be supported. Real talent simply bursts forth with joy. Real talent can stand on it's own.

Please check this out.....

http://www.glumbert.com/media/connie


I Never watch American Idol. Let me repeat that ... I Never watch American Idol. I watched one show and hated it. In part because I can't imagine that some people have no one who cares enough to say, "Hey man, don't do this. You don't want to look stupid on TV. Sorry man, we love you but we all know you can't sing." Friends not only need to keep friends from driving drunk. Real friends need to keep friends from being publicly stupid.

The second reason I don't watch American Idol is because of Simon. No one should be allowed to be as mean as he is. Sure no talent people have the guts to stand before him, but that doesn't give him the right to treat them so mean.

I don't like stupidity but I hate cruelty even more.

However.....if by some stretch of the imagination we can hope that Simon is truly trying to make a statement about "talent", then perhaps a little mean is what this world needs. I think I could be nicer in the way I express my assessment, but I don't think we should reward no talent people who are only wanting to grab the spotlight and don't want to work to be excellent in their craft.

Strive to be excellent.....that's a tough goal but one that will never let you down. Excellence will always receive a reward!

Be an excellent spouse.

Be excellent for your employer.

Be an excellent parent.

Be an excellent citizen.

And above all....be an excellent Christian.

Frankly, there's just too many lazy fakes around. So go out there and show the world that you can be excellent in your life.

God loves you,

Debbie

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellence. Today's music. Notice I didn't put them in the same sentence, because they don't belong together.
Debbie, I whole-heartedly agree with you about music today and American Idol. Here is my opinion, they are both full of tasteless, talentless crap.
I believe that music was meant to inspire. Music in church is meant to lift you spiritually to be able to feel the Lord and His presence. Seuclar music should make you feel happy, take you back to happier times or simply relax.
I am a huge Elvis fan, and my 2 boys are becoming Elvis fans as well. The man had a God given talent and gave us some of the best music of our lifetime. I have to say that over 95% of Elvis' music catalog containing over 700 songs deal with love and happiness and love of a good woman. When I am having a bad day or just need a lift, I grab and Elvis CD and throw it in and in just a few minutes, I feel better. Why? His music has positive energy and he was full of positive energy. Look at any footage from his concerts in the '70s. See the smiles in the audience, pure happiness.
Now, when I need a spritual lift, out come the Gospel CD's. Music from "the Kingsmen" or "Gold City" or something from the Bill Gaither library will do. This music brings God closer and the problem farther away and I am again at peace and centered again.
look at today's music and see how many are still remembered 50 years from now with great love. Will "50 cent" and "Snoop Dog" be remembered like nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Barry Manilow, Tony Bennet, Eddie Arnold? How about Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, or Rosemary Clooney? I say most likely not.

Debbie Jansen said...

Thanks Mike. I am there with you. Music is therapeutic for me. It has the ability to change my mood within minutes. Well, good music has that ability. Glad to know there are others that realize the value of excellence in many areas of our lives.