Do Your Best

ByMatthew

“You get the best out of others when you get the best out of yourself.” – Harvey Firestone

No one will follow, willingly and to the best of their abilities and capacities, someone they don’t believe in. People recognize character and integrity, and even more easily, its absence.

Before anyone — be they a CEO, parent or spouse — can ask others to do their best, they must be doing so themselves. Doing your best isn’t being perfect. Nor is it accomplishing everything you set out to do, exactly as you planned. And it’s (certainly) not being better than others.

Your best is simply that. The most you can do at any given time with the resources you have available. Intuitively we all know what we’re capable of, but we often fail to start because we’re afraid to fail.

But there is no failure. Every action creates a result. It may not be the result you want, we call that feedback — an invitation to learn, adapt and act again.

Your best isn’t perfection, it’s doing what you can do in each moment. Your best is being willing to start, knowing that you may not accomplish everything. Your best is taking action and learning. Over and over and over again. Your best is being better than you were (even if it’s just a little bit better).

Do your best — it’s the right thing to do (always . . . even if your best kinda sucks at the moment).

Similar Posts

  • When Patience Goes Too Far

    ByMatthew

    Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it’s cowardice. – George Jackson One of the great skills of life is discernment. It’s easy to tell the difference between black and white, hot or cold, up or down, . . . . But being able to tell the difference between patience and procrastination is…

  • How Are You Learning, Growing?

    ByMatthew

    Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead. – Tom Peters The only job security, if there is such a thing, is intelligently growing your skills and abilities to meet future challenges and opportunities with ambition, capability and capacity. What your learning plan? How are you growing?

  • The Mistake So Many* Make

    ByMatthew

    What is the secret behind every tragic misstep on the path to success? It happens right here: People believe their emotions have an external cause. That’s it. That’s the only real problem. – Steve Chandler *  *  * Your emotions create your experience, the visceral, palpable real part of your experience. You create your emotions. (By…

  • One Way To Be Strong

    ByMatthew

    The fool wonders, the wise man asks. – Benjamin Disraeli People say there are no dumb questions. It’s mostly true . . . . (There are questions that intelligently created and artfully asked, those are really not dumb questions). There’s no better way to keep yourself small and weak than to not ask questions. Ask questions:…

  • Neither Swift Nor Easy

    ByMatthew

    I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy. – Marie Curie Success is simple, but hard work. There are no over-night successes or easy paths to riches. Whether it’s the “larger” progress Curie speaks of, or personal success, the truth is that the time must be devoted and the price…