Barbara Casey's
"Messages from the Soapbox"

Vol 7, No 4 - February 24, 2008

In This Issue:

- Evolution by Excellence - by Barbara Casey
- An Excellent Tool for Advancing Your Business
- How to Sabotage Potentially Excellent Products



~ Evolution by Excellence - by Barbara Casey ~

The value of an organization is measured by its bottom, not its top.

For example, the future of television is being measured by a lackluster season without writers - and its current enchantment with amateur shows. Baseball's esteem is falling right along with the reputations of its substance abusers, instead of rising with its home run kings.

Turn on the TV and you can't avoid noticing that political campaigns are being evaluated more by their defects than by their triumphs. In business, the "bottom" line has been deemed more worthy than the integrity of the company.

And, on the internet, where I spend much of my time, I'm seeing that products created "in 7 days" are being aggressively promoted by internet "gurus," while quality and value seem to be bygone concepts.

Do you want to be evaluated by the WORST you can do - or by the best?

On the other hand, if your "worst" is better than most other people's "best" - what does that say about you?

-- That you're not following the herd, perhaps?
-- That quality is more important to you than quantity?
-- That you don't compromise your high standards?
-- That you honor and respect your customers, viewers, readers,
constituents or fans?
-- That your motivation to excel starts where everyone else's stops?

What vision are you seeing that spurs you to excellence? How far can you go, continually recreating new levels of excellence?

A Baryshnikov or a Pavarotti - who represent pretty high pinnacles in their respective fields - had to have a couple of things going for them to reach those zeniths.

They had to have a desire to reach the heights, in order to survive the hard work of becoming technically perfect. And they had to feel an inner purpose that compelled them to become the embodiment of "dance" and "music" respectively.

If you watched their performances, especially when they were at their peak, you could see how they were literally "at one" with what they were doing. The dancer and the singer faded from view and the dance and the music they performed reached out and touched us in our souls.

When the creator and the creation merge so completely, the whole becomes all that much greater than the sum of its parts.

We know what it looks like - but somehow we don't believe that we can accomplish the same levels of excellence in our own creations.

Me? On the same level as a Baryshnikov or Pavarotti?

Most of us think about our skills and talents as something we "do." We often list them on our business cards, almost like a "to do" list. Then, too, most of us are satisfied with staying on the surface of our abilities, not risking our egos for the gold ring.

That is, until some discontented voice within starts nagging more and more insistently, "Is that all there is?"

If we don't respond to our inner voice, quite often a spiritual two-by-four whacks us in the form of illness, job loss or some other event to get our attention.

Then, if we're lucky, we awaken from our "illusory" life of being like everyone else and doing what everyone else does - to finding that song or dance within us that must be expressed - the creation that personifies our truest soul essence.

Whether it's in the arts, writing, healing, teaching, or business - we understand that our creations are now being nourished from a deeper well.

And the result raises the bar - not just for our own next effort - but for everyone else's as well. Our "bests" and our "worsts" keep trading places with everyone else's... as we continually motivate ourselves to be better than our last "best."

Evolution by excellence. Isn't it what we're all here for?

Find articles to inspire and motivate you here.



~ An Excellent Tool for Advancing Your Business ~

If you're a home business owner or private practice professional, you can't do better than Robert Middleton's InfoGuru Marketing Manual to guide your marketing program.

If you're looking for marketing guidance to move you to the top of your game, this is it.

I've been a fan of Robert Middleton's for many years. He's the "real deal" for advancing the businesses of solo professionals.

Learn more about the InfoGuru Marketing Manual



~ How to Sabotage Potentially Excellent Products ~

We don't become "excellent" overnight or just by wishing for it. Excellence requires us to do our homework.

And often it's the little things that make the difference - that set us apart from the wannabes.

A few years ago, I attended teleclasses for a new book being promoted by a well-known prosperity guru. She was tremendously excited about her new hardcover book. I bought the book, based on her reputation and the information in the teleclasses.

And was disappointed in the result.

Why? The material in the book was pretty good - but there were so many typos on each page, I cringed each time I read it. I didn't finish the book.

That book had been on my list as a potential Christmas gift for family members - but there was no way I would give anyone something that was so shoddily made. I couldn't believe that this "guru" didn't even bother to hire a professional proofreader.

She may still be wondering why her book didn't sell better. It was a potential word-of-mouth bestseller... except for all the typographical errors.

Excellence is as much in the details as in the concept.

That's one reason why I keep writing how-to tutorials. So we have tools at hand to make sure we don't inadvertently sabotage a potentially excellent product.

Here's the link to my free tutorials.


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Barbara Casey's Messages from the Soapbox:
Inspiration for your vision and tools for the success of your
home-based business.

PO Box 86674, St. Petersburg, FL 33738 ~ (727) 397-2702
Copyright 2008 Barbara Casey