“How does one achieve excellence in living?”

Recently, I have thought a lot about the answer to these questions. “You want to start a personal development brand and launch your own business, and you’ve called it ‘Living In Excellence”, I told myself. “Do you realize the magnitude of what you are saying and the weight it carries?”

So, I had to reflect on it, and I did a little more research on the topic and decided to share my thoughts on what it means to live in excellence.

The term Arete is an ancient Greek philosophical term that stands for excellence or ‘excellence of any kind’. This was the most articulated value and the highest standard to strive for in the Greek culture. Essentially, Arete can be defined as “being the best you can be,” or “reaching your highest potential.”
Now, when applied to our lives, the notion would be the fulfillment of one’s purpose or the act of living up to one’s full potential. This was one of the reasons the Greek Empire flourished due to this being what everyone aspired to be; excellent.

Some Greek writings described the personification of the goddess, Arete, as one who lived on a treacherous mountaintop that she would rarely come down from. Unfortunately, entire lifetimes, even generations, could pass without a living person having the chance of seeing Arete in her truest form, in their truest form…

And that’s when I found the answer.

If there is one thing I hope you get out of this post, it is purpose.

Because THAT is what “Living In Excellence” is all about. It is about finding your purpose and dedicating your lifetime creating THAT version of you. The best version of you. The one that shows up for YOU and for those around you when they need it most. That is what I envisioned when I created “Living In Excellence”, because that was my arete, excellence of character.

In 2023, I found my purpose. I found how I wanted to “change the world”. I found that I wanted to push myself, and those around me, to become the best version of ourselves. I wanted to become a leader, in my life, and a leader for those around me. Most importantly, I wanted them to experience that in their own lives as well.

Why?

Because I have seen the consequences of when I, and others, have failed to have their best self-show up when called upon, and I did not want to have to see anyone I loved go through that again. So, I committed to this journey of launching a coaching business to allow others to show up and support them in becoming the best version of themselves. It does NOT happen overnight.

Excellence is a process, not a destination.

Life is not choosing to watch the best years of your life in the rear-view mirror. It is not about allowing life to happen to you and becoming complacent with what you have. It is about finding and choosing what we want in life, and intentionally planning, molding, and creating the best version of ourselves required to achieve that goal. This is a lifetime commitment. Every year, every month, every day.

So, for 2024, I have decided to push myself to become better in ways that I had not before. After 5 years in the biotech field, I decided to leave and pursue my dreams in the education field. I am beginning the year unemployed for the purpose of building my brand and the foundation to my business, to then transition into higher education. During this time, I have also set many goals for the year. Amongst all these goals, I have selected 3 that really will push myself and will change the course of my life.

1. Run a 10k Spartan Race.
2. Run a Half-Marathon.
3. Launch the “Living In Excellence” business.

And you being here, attest to one of them.

They are not easy goals, but they are not impossible. I have decided on the life I want to live and who I want to become; these are non-negotiables.

However, knowing I am not the best version of myself today, makes tomorrow THAT much more exciting. So, my message to you:

Become Better.
Be Better.
Go Be Great.