To that end, one quote I’ve long used – and endlessly paraphrased – is from Aristotle. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” Use excellences as a qualifier for anything we aspire to do better – writing, design, parenting, to get the point across. For example, “Excellence in organization is not an act, but a habit.”

It means we have to strive, persist and work to perfect what we seek to do well. It can serve as a motivator that should drive us to seek improvement or greatness. I’m still working on that one about parenting…