Good Better Best

Good Better Best dan skognes insurance finance investments motivation blogger speaker entrepreneur (309x320)

Shopping has become easier since marketers have taken the liberty of telling us which one is good, which one is better, and which one is best.  This easily applies to appliances and electronics.  Price usually is a pretty good indicator, but not always accurate depending on how hot the item is (like a new I Phone).  Those categories may be indicative of some great value, but it always boils down to price, doesn’t it?  We always have to reconcile the budget to the purchase to figure out what is best for us.

But what about people?  What happens in our heads when we are setting goals for ourselves?  We go through the thought process and analyze the probability of us attaining our goals based on our past performance and what we “think” is attainable. We also count the cost. How much time and effort is this going to take? Don’t we do this pretty consistently?

What if the value we place on our abilities is warped by our perception of what we think?  What if we are allowing past failures or even successes to taint our current performance and thus settle in to a comfort zone that we “feel” is attainable?  What if we let our fear of the future keep us from setting higher goals?

What a tragedy if we think that “Good” is as good as it gets.  We have to put things in perspective.

  • While past performance is an indicator of future performance, it is not the only indicator. Past performance is something that is best left in the past, whether good or bad.  Don’t live on past glories or past failures if you expect to progress past the point of being “Good.”
  • Better is better than Good, but still falls short of excellence, so there is room to grow even when you are better.
  • When you have attained “Best” in any category….sports, sales, politics, creativity…whatever it might be…even then you have room for continual self-improvement.  Best is subjective at best….and is always subject to being better.  We never reach our full potential because of the ability we have to improve our mind, our body, our vision, our passion.  We have an infinite capacity to improve as long as we admit we have not “arrived.” There is always another mountain to climb, army to conquer, game to win, sale to be made. The truth is….we attain “Best” for a brief fleeting moment, and then we have to keep pursuing it from that moment forward.  Think Super Bowl Champions, Salesman of the Year, President.

There was a movie some years ago with Jack Nicholson called “As Good As It Gets.”  It was a very good movie about someone who was really flawed in his perceptions…but got better and better as he realized the value of other people…especially the lady he fell in love with.  He had a line in the movie that was classic.  “You make me want to be a better man.”  I like that line.  Wish I had thought of it.  But you know what?  That applies to my wife.  She does make me want to be a better man.  She makes me want to be a man that she will respect…and I do all I can not to disappoint her in that arena.

Sure…I still have a long way to go, but I am continually striving to be the best.  The best husband, her best friend, the best dad, the best insurance and finance guy on the planet, and the best motivational blogger ever.  Needless to say…that is a TALL list and I have a long way to go in my quest for the best, but those are my goals.  You have to think big if you want to be the best. With God’s help and hard work, why can’t I? Why can’t YOU?

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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