Excellence, not perfection

Over at The Art of Non-Conformity, Chris Guillebeau brings the concept of excellence into focus

By the way, making something good is usually about getting a few big things right, but excellence is about refining all of the little things.
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QUESTION: What are you striving for excellence? What are you happy to leave with just being good?

Well, I strive for excellence in anything I am doing for other people. Things I am doing for myself can stay at being good.

I've just had the pleasant (and paid) opportunity to upgrade an earlier bit of work from 'basic but good' to 'better with touches of excellence'. (Which was sufficient motivation that I did it this evening rather than putting it off until tomorrow).

Of course Chris also notes that

To go from good to excellent is not always necessary. You can do very well in many areas of life just by being good. In fact, I think that the pursuit of perfection can sometimes serve as a form of life avoidance.

which may also be a relevant point for some of us :-/