Don't Confuse Success with Excellence

Many people mistakenly believe that success and excellence are the same. But that wouldn’t be the case.

Success is the achievement of a specific goal, outcome, or result.
Excellence is the consistent pursuit of improvement, guided by standards, regardless of the outcome.

Success is great, but it’s also fleeting. Excellence is a way of life. Said differently, success fades, excellence compounds.

Julie Fournier put it perfectly: "Success is an event. Excellence is a process. Success is the pursuit of wins, trophies, and status. Excellence is the gradual pursuit of getting better every day. Success is what you get. Excellence is what you become."

You don’t become excellent by chasing results. You become excellent by raising your standard, then refusing to lower it.

I recently watched the Netflix series Quarterback. In the show, Bengals QB Joe Burrow gave a clinic in this mindset. After beating the Titans 37-27 late in the season, he should’ve been satisfied. But his team had jumped offside eight times.

Instead of celebrating, he told his coach:
“Embarrassing performance. We weren’t good today. I understand that we won the game and we want to be happy that we won the game, but at the same time, when things aren’t good enough, I’m not going to act like they were.”

Burrow wasn’t being negative. He was pursuing excellence.

He wasn’t doubting himself or his teammates. He was doubting the work and their focus, so it could get better.

Rick Rubin said, “Doubting yourself can lead to hopelessness. Doubting the work can help improve it.”

Now isn’t the time to settle. It’s not time to doubt yourself. However, it is time to understand that success and excellence aren’t the same things. I want you to be successful and achieve great outcomes.

But I don’t want you to settle for success. I want you to strive for excellence and allow success to be the result.

P.S. Want to train your mindset in just 7 days? The Daily Optimism Blueprint is brand new, and it’s just for you. It’s a blueprint to help you build stronger self-talk and start each day with clarity. Get it here for only $17.

Check out the Optimistic Outlooks podcast and leave a review to help the show grow.