Article 1: Excellence - The basics

"Excellence" - is a very intriguing concept. We all seem to think that we know all about it and can be excellent whenever we want to - just as if it is a matter of switching a button on. We all would love to believe that excellence is a virtue that we possess inside ourselves and can command to appear whenever we wish.

Yet, in our day-to-day life, we continue to take the easier options and to avoid the difficult route towards ensuring consistent excellence in everything that we do. Part of it is our attitude and the other part is our perception that we should not exert ourselves unnecessarily - after all, excellence is only a step away!! So why bother to pursue it all the time?

Somehow our basic nature tends towards taking the shortcut in everything that we do. However, it is not true for everyone and there are a few amongst us who have overcome this inertia and have imbibed a passion for excellence in their approach and performance. What differentiates these individuals from the rest of the population? Why is it that they eschew any option which leads to the mundane and the ordinary output? It is this very streak of persistence that differenciates the true professional from the amatuers and now we will try and understand this concept of excellence in further detail.

So what exactly is "Excellence"? Is it a secret magic potion which only a few of us have the luxury of tasting and imbibing? Or is it the adrenaline which only pumps in our veins for a few seconds sometimes when the stakes are the highest, before we return back to our normal state of existance. What differentiates the good from the great and the great from the excellent and the excellent from the perfect?

In this blog, I will attempt to put down some lessons, ideas, examples and theories that I have learnt over the past 10+ years of my professional life and also from my interactions with my friends, colleagues, family and mentors. For me, this is a journey of introspection, self-awareness and fulfillment of my dreams - to raise my own self above the perceived limits of my existence and to achieve the true purpose of my life.

I invite you to join me on my mission and become my partner and mentor.