I was having a discussion today with one of my staff who had recently traveled to a convention with a business he is involved with. As he described one of the speakers and leaders of this company, he begin to compliment the speaker/leader, his inspiring message and core-values based lifestyle. He correlated the man’s message with what he has learned at Elevate Life Church for the past 8 years. My thoughts as he spoke of what he saw in this leader was that he was able to identify a person who has a Heart of Excellence.

His encomium of high praise blessed my heart, but also provoked me to write this blog.

A Heart of Excellence…what is that?

It is a heart that wants the best, but that is only the beginning. Everybody wants the best don’t they? One of my fondest memories of my son when he was growing up, was the times we spent together right before he went to bed. We would have our devotions, pray, express our love verbally and with hugs and kisses. The last thing I would do before I turned my son’s light out every night was, I would turn to him and say, “Joshua, you can be anything you want to be…you can do anything you want to do…as long as you are willing the pay the price.” I would turn out the light…he would always say, “I love you dad,” one more time and I would reciprocate.

The Heart of Excellence does not come without a price. You can want the best of life, whatever that is and however you define it, but if you are not willing to pay the price, you don’t get it. To describe a Heart of Excellence is to describe the price.

A Heart of Excellence is…

· A desire to BE the Best YOU, you can be.

All desire stems from the heart and there is no more important desire than to Be the Best YOU, you can be. It is not about who other people are to you. It is not about what other people have done to you. It is not about being reactive based on what has happened to you. It is about who YOU are. It is about what YOU are going to do to and for people. It is about BEING proactive. It is about summoning the Best out of you, because the Best is in you.

· A willingness to See the Best in others, especially when the worst has been displayed.

All great relationships have this one common denominator! There are no great relationships without great people. Relationships are great not because everything is great, but because of the people who are in great relationships are continually working on themselves to be better people. Each person is responsible for not only developing their own greatness or BEST, but to being committed to identifying and appreciating what is BEST in others.

· An understanding that choosing to Think…Be and Do your Best, will cause conflict with those not making the same choice.

This is the part of a Heart of Excellence that can be easily misunderstood. Excellence conflicts average! Excellence causes conflict but it is worth it. When you choose to fight for a good marriage, it may cause conflict with those who are not fighting the “good fight” for their marriage. When you choose to be your Best and set standards to achieve your Best, it will cause conflict with those who don’t have the same standards. Whatever standard that you choose to set for your own life, can evoke a response from someone who does not have that standard. They also may think and express that you think you are better than they are.

These are a few thoughts, and in no way encompass my entire thought process on a Heart of Excellence…in fact, maybe I will speak on this subject, this weekend!!

Seeking to have a Heart of Excellence,
Keith