Unfortunately, most people go through life operating below their potential and living a fraction of the life they are capable of. In turn, they earn a fraction of money they could earn if they put in their best work. Unlike humans you will never find a tree going less than it possibly can. A tree does not decide to grow half its potential size. We are the only species that intentionally try to make sense of being less than we possibly can. This practice of giving less than the best in service to others is evident in the amount of money or wealth we acquire. To make the most of life financially, you must decide to always give your best.
One of the great American investors Charlie Munger once said, “A great business at a fair price is superior to a fair business at a great price.”
Charlie Munger is a huge proponent of achieving success through offering great services or products rather than settling for mediocre especially when you have the ability to do great.
Give your best upfront it may be your only chance to prove yourself and this is how you get hired. Then do the best work you can for every person, at all times this will give you continuity of work or business and referrals.
What does it mean to always give your best?
Are you giving your 100% to everything you do or any worthwhile pursuit? Giving your best means not taking the easy way out. It means the best version of your ability and not anybody else’s. Giving your best requires operating at your highest potential.
Giving your best does not mean perfection instead it means striving for excellence in all you do. When you strive for excellence you understand that there is always room for improvement despite your most recent success.
Why should you always give your best?
The level of financial success you attain is dependent on the level of value you provide. And the quality of your accomplishments becomes very profound when you give your best. Other than direct financial gains, there are other positive ways giving your best affects you.
Giving your best is a great way to guarantee no regrets or avoid thoughts like, “I should have done this or that”. Even if you do not succeed in your attempts, you will not blame or beat yourself up.
Giving your best also brings a great deal of satisfaction (both for you and the people that you offer your services to).
When you give your best you eliminate the burden of guilt and doubt. Because whenever you look back, you know that you did all you can with all you had at the time to the best of your abilities.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. – Eccl 9:10
Here are ways to ensure that you give your best
1. Be honest to yourself
Before anything else, you need to be sincere with yourself about your level of effort, self-imposed limitations, attitude and knowledge as you embark on any given venture. This honest assessment pinpoints areas you need to focus on to give your best at any specific task.
2. Think Integrity
What you do when no one is watching speaks a lot about who you are. And like the saying goes: how you do anything is how you do everything. Always give your best even when no one is watching, when it is easier to take shortcuts or when it is easier to be average. Decide not to compromise with excellence, while putting up your effort. Remember, nothing of sustainable value is achieved through shortcuts, low level performance or quick-fixes.
3. Think quality and not quantity
Giving your best is about thinking qualitatively and not quantitatively. For the most part, quality outweighs quantity over a long period of time. While there are very rare cases where both quality and quantity are essential, if you desire longevity, sustainability and satisfaction then focus on the quality of your services, products or projects.
4. Beat your record
Forget competing with other people’s goals and focus on competing against the last version of you because the one sure thing you can control is giving your best. At all times challenge your status-quo and past successes by incorporating by striving for continuous improvement. No matter how small it is, think about being just 1% better than you were the last time. Even though it may take you outside your comfort zone, regularly pushing your limits is how you give your best every time.
5. Review past performance
The goal here is to learn and improve. After completion of any project, successful or not, take the time to review how you performed, what you could have done better, and then implement the lessons learned going forward. This retrospective session could be the key to shattering your limitations. It could lead you to the right knowledge or resource that will take you further than just hard work and dedication.
6. Enjoy the process
In giving your best, the end result or final reward is great but finding ways to enjoy the process or the journey is how you get the staying power to not fall short of effort.
Ultimately, if you want to perform at a mediocre level, you need to be content with mediocre returns. Whatever it is you do, do it to the best of your ability. If everything you do is done to the best of your ability, money and financial growth will follow.
Related: Why 92-percent of People Fail at Achieving Goals
BOTTOM LINE:
- Operating less than your potential leads to regret, doubt and guilt. Give your 100% in everything worthwhile thing you pursue in life.
- Strive to be the best, do the best and you will have nothing but the best.
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