We all yearn to create something spectacular with our life. We may have started moving towards a goal or dream that we’re truly passionate about, but no matter who we are, the initial excitement of our pursuit will eventually wear off. The exuberant start eventually transitions into the slow and arduous climb.   

So, how do we stay motivated and energized during, as best-selling author and leadership coach, Micheal Hyatt, calls the “messy middle” of any goal or dream?  

It’s in the daily grind, the challenges and the perceived failures that we can birth our greatest ideas.  It’s where we turn aspirations into physical plans and then learn the lessons needed to eventually succeed.  

If you knew that the life of your dream depended on how you acted in this moment today, where would you place your focus and attention?

As we choose to approach each day with an attitude of excellence, we can understand that there is a difference between excellence and perfectionism. When we strive for excellence, we pour our best selves into each action knowing and trusting that we’re making a difference even if we aren’t necessarily recognized or rewarded for it.  

Aristotle observed that “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Each project that we complete can be our personal best at that moment. As we make it our personal best, we will continue to grow into our next personal best.

How we choose to start each day is generally how we will finish it.  So, get up and make your bed! Even the smallest wins are moving your towards magnificence. If you aren’t sure what to do next, take the action that is right in front of you regardless of how menial and mundane it may appear.

Each choice is a another stroke of our brush on the canvas of our life.

Make today your “masterpiece!”