W.I.N. Wednesday: No matter what you have achieved...

"No matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to to what you can become. Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have already begun."

Jim Collins, Good to Great and The Social Sectors

My oldest son Jesse (along with his business partner Jeff Jamieson) owns Vine Arts, an extremely successful boutique wine store, and Proof, the hottest new cocktail bar in Calgary. They understand the lesson Jim Collins talks about in Good to Great. They are continually innovating and doing new things both at Vine Arts, which opened in March of 2012, and Proof, which just opened in May of this year. Even though they get this concept and live it, I shared this quote from Collins with Jesse a few months ago to pass along to all his staff. 

My son Cody open his restaurant Native Tongues Taqueria on July 1. Having his open restaurant has been a dream for years and took an amazing amount of hard work, vision, creativity, grit, resilience and persistence. The result is a really cool space, amazing food, great staff who provide great service creating an first class dining experience for customers. They have been busy since the day they opened the doors. 

While having lunch at Native Tongues with Cody a couple of weeks ago I made the comment,"It must feel great to be packed every night for the first month you have been open." His response impressed me. He said, "It is easy to pack the place the first month, even the first six months. The challenge is can we make sure it is still packed after a year, 5 years and 10 years." Wow. I wish I had that kind of wisdom and insight into the pursuit of excellence when I was 29. 

What about you. Are you basking in the glory of your success? Have you 'arrived' and stopped innovating, creating and serving? Have you gotten comfortable with the status quo? Have you begun your slide to mediocrity? It is easy to do. The problem is that by the time you realize you are on the slide to mediocrity it is often too late to recover. 

What's Important Now? - Dare to be great, but never think of yourself as great. Greatness is a journey, not a destination. Stay hungry and humble. Keep learning. Keep growing.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

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