Excellence as a habit

I’ve been rewatching The Last Dance – the documentary about Michael Jordan’s time with the Chicago Bulls. Every time I do, something new jumps out.

This time it was a comment from Michael Jordan’s college coach. He described Michael’s insatiable appetite to get better – and then said something that stuck with me. Michael had the ability to turn it on and turn it off at will.

But, boy, he never turned it off.

Someone else added another layer to this. Michael knew that every time he played, there was somebody in that arena seeing him for the first time. And he had this deep desire to always show them excellence. It showed up in all the little things.

Aristotle said excellence is not an act but a habit. We are what we repeatedly do.

Watching Michael Jordan go about his business is an embodiment of that. Early in his career, despite all the distractions that come with being a young, famous basketball player, he lived like he was still in college. Head down. Show up. Perform at his absolute best. Make sure the team never lost.

It got me thinking – how good would it be to have somebody say that about you in your craft? That you had the ability to turn it on or off. But boy, you never turned it off.

That’s a standard worth chasing.