Quotes about Excellence

After we've discovered what God called us to do, after we've discovered our life's work, we should set out to do that work so well that the living, the dead, or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and worth and should be pursued with respect for excellence.

an intellect that positively excels even in one single direction is among the rarest of natural phenomena.

If the rest of them can survive only by destroying us, then why should we wish them to survive? . . . Nothing can make it moral to destroy the best. One can't be punished for being good. One can't be penalized for ability.

There's nothing of any importance in life—except how well you do your work.

and the desire would never be satisfied, except by a being of equal greatness.

It's a law of survival, isn't it?—to seek the best. I didn't come for your sake. I came for mine.

Francisco could do anything he undertook, he could do it better than anyone else, and he did it without effort. There was no boasting in his manner and consciousness, no thought of comparison. His attitude was not: "I can do it better than you," but simply: "I can do it." What he meant by doing was doing superlatively.

The code of competence is the only system of morality that's on a gold standard.

There's no surer way to destroy a man than to force him into a spot where he has to aim at not doing his best, where he has to struggle to do a bad job, day after day.

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.

If you want the secondary greatness of recognized talent, focus first on primary greatness of character