To-Do-Lists

I may mangle it, but I remember reading an Aristotle quote that said something like this: "We are what we do repeatedly; therefore excellence is a habit and not an act."

Whatever the exact quote, it is something to live up to. I believe that doing things over and over, on-time and in line with expectations is what makes you successful - whether it be in a job, a relationship, or on a golf course.

I know a great doctor who once told me that success will follow you if you work hard. (He's chronicled in House of Miracles).

Yet why am I spouting off like Plato today? I suppose it is because I normally walk around with a checklist in my head. I told my wife that each day is an exercise in doing things I don't want to do, so I can get home and do some of the things I do want to do. Not that I hate my job - quite the opposite really. Not that I hate writing - I love it actually!

Yet life sometimes gets lost in the mundane. We repeat certain tasks over and over and when we are done - we start them again. I remember being out in California and watching the men paint the Golden Gate Bridge. When they finished it - they started over again. It's a job with no end.

I knew a man who worked at a plant sweeping the same spot of floor - every day. He would sweep it up all day long only to come back in the morning to find it covered again. I asked him about his motivation and he said, "Someone needs to do it and do it right. I'm the man for the job."

I keep to-do-lists. I help with the laundry every two days so that we don't have a truckload of it on Sunday. Lather, rinse, repeat - sooner or later it becomes a habit.

I also believe that Aristotle was speaking about excellence in how we treat others. Over and over - be kind, be thoughtful and be responsive - in the end someone may say - "She was an excellent wife, or he was an excellent father. It's all about being there.

I drove a long way today with Aristotle on the mind.