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THE 8 KEYS OF EXCELLENCE
1. INTEGRITY *Match behavior with values* - Demonstrate your positive personal values in all you do and say. Be sincere and real. 2. FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS *Learn from mistakes* - View failures as feedback that provides you with the information you need to learn, grow, and succeed. 3. SPEAK WITH GOOD PURPOSE *Speak honestly and kindly* - Think before you speak. Make sure your intention is positive and your words are sincere. 4. THIS IS IT! *Make the most of every moment* - Focus your attention on the present moment. Keep a positive attitude. 5. COMMITMENT *Make your dreams happen* - Take positive action. Follow your vision without wavering. 6. OWNERSHIP *Take responsibility for actions* - Be responsible for your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. “Own” the choices you make and the results that follow. 7. FLEXIBILITY *Be willing to do things differently* - Recognize what’s not working and be willing to change what you’re doing to achieve your goal. 8. BALANCE *Live your best life* - be mindful of self and others while focusing on what’s meaningful and important in your life. Inner happiness and fulfillment come when your mind, body, and emotions are nurtured by the choices you make. As principles, the 8 Keys of Excellence do more than create a more positive environment—they change lives. Becoming aware of these eight principles and committing to them is both exciting and challenging, pushing us to strive for excellence and positively impacting the world we live in. For as we learn to model our beliefs, other people in our lives are influenced by our behavior and often follow the examples we set. Like falling dominoes, the process continues, each person affecting the next.
Excellence
Let’s look for a moment at the meaning of excellence and its impact on our lives and on our world. Excellence is defined as the quality of excelling, greatness, value, worth - and when we excel we do extremely well, we shine, we stand out. Aristotle give us a little more insight in our understanding of this powerful word… Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. –Aristotle In light of Aristotle’s thoughts, we can consider the principles of the 8 Key of Excellence as our guide to “act rightly” - if we make each of the 8 Keys a habit, make them part of who we are, they will lead us to excellence. If we “live” the 8 Keys of Excellence - in our homes, in our schools, in our organizations - we will truly excel!
DePorter, Bobbi (2010). The 8 Keys of Excellence. Oceanside, CA: Learning Forum Publications
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