* We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
-- Aristotle

* Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
-- Aristotle (384-322 BC)

”It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.
-- Pearl S. Buck

* I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection.
Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.
~Michael J. Fox

* "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
-- Vince Lombardi

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
-- Vince Lombardi

“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* We need to internalize this idea of excellence.
Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.
-- Barack Obama

Only in a free society do individuals have the best chance to seek virtue, strive for excellence, improve their economic well-being, and achieve personal happiness... The worthy goals of civilization can only be achieved by freedom loving individuals. When government uses force, liberty is sacrificed and the goals are lost. It is freedom that is the source of all creative energy.
-- Ron Paul

Don't strive to be perfect. Strive for excellence.
-- Victoria Principal

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
-- Sun Tzu

Those who would attain to any marked degree of excellence in a chosen pursuit must work, and work hard for it, prince or peasant.
-- Bayard Taylor

Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.
-- William Makepeace Thackeray

* Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.
-- Booker T. Washington

* Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.
-- Oprah Winfrey