Excellence is not an act but a habit… it’s a game-changing truth. It flips the script on how we view success, moving it from a single event to a daily practice you build over time.
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Meaning
This quote means that excellence isn’t a one-off performance you pull off when the pressure’s on. It’s the automatic, high-quality output that comes from the small, consistent routines you’ve already built.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. We tend to think of excellence as this big, dramatic moment—the perfect presentation, the flawless product launch. But that’s a trap. The real magic, the sustainable magic, happens in the mundane. It’s the habit of preparing for meetings 24 hours in advance. It’s the habit of documenting your process so you can replicate success. It’s the habit of making one more sales call when you’re tired. Those tiny, almost invisible habits compound. They build a foundation so solid that excellence isn’t a stressful peak you have to climb; it’s just the plateau you operate from every single day. It becomes who you are, not just what you do.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Success (341) |
| Topics | excellence (24), improvement (20) |
| Literary Style | instructional (42) |
| Emotion / Mood | determined (116) |
| Overall Quote Score | 73 (94) |
Origin & Factcheck
This one comes straight from productivity expert Brian Tracy’s book, Get Paid More and Promoted Faster, which came out in 2001. You’ll sometimes see a similar idea—”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”—mistakenly attributed to Aristotle, but that’s actually a modern paraphrase. Tracy’s version is the clean, modern, and correctly attributed one we use in business contexts today.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Brian Tracy (375) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Get Paid More and Promoted Faster (58) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Contemporary (1615) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Brian Tracy, a prolific author gained global reputation because of his best seller book list such as Eat That Frog!, Goals!, and The Psychology of Selling, and created influential audio programs like The Psychology of Achievement. He is sought after guru for personal development and business performance. Brian Tracy International, coaches millions of professionals and corporates on sales, goal setting, leadership, and productivity.
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Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Excellence is not an act but a habit, and it is developed through constant improvement |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2002; ISBN: 978-1576751985; Last edition: 2002, Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Number of pages: 208. |
| Where is it? | Chapter: Excellence; Approximate page from 2002 edition |