Required

"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction."
Charles Kendall Adams

Do you do what is required of you? In order to accomplish that, you do, of course, have to know what it is that is required of you. You need to thoroughly understand your job description, which is not spelt out for most of the things you will do. You need to be well aware of what other people expect from you, what they would define as a adequate or satisfactory job. And then you need to be good enough to fulfill those expectations.

But being adequate is not enough. Almost by definition, many people can do your job adequately, whatever your job might be. You must stand out in order to be really successful. You need to go above and beyond the call of duty. You must impress people enough that they remember you, and call upon you again. In order to do that, you must be better than all those other people who just perform adequately.

How does one go above and beyond the call of duty? It is a case of knowing what people really want, and being motivated to give it to them even though the job description doesn't include those things. It is a case of continually asking yourself "How can I do more? How can I do the job better?" It is a case of continually learning everything you can about your field of endeavor.

This doesn't just apply to work but to anything you want to be successful at. Whether you want to start a new business, raise a child, or bake a cake, it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction.

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