I recently delivered the keynote at the 2010 Safety Kickoff Meeting of the Michigan District of Indiana Michigan Power. The Stoke the Fire Within keynote had a special emphasis of seeking excellence. Their safety record has been impeccable this past year, and they want to maintain their high standards, and even go higher.
When I think of Excellence, I love to share the story of a young lady who exemplifies the word.
In my broadcasting days, I was able to interview many famous athletes. People often ask me who the most impressive athlete I have covered is. Without hesitation I say Vanessa Pruzinsky. They look at me like, “Who’s that?”
Vanessa carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average her entire time at Notre Dame in CHEMICAL ENGINEERING! How hard is that? She was only the third person in the University’s history to do that, and the first female ever. At the same time she was also a starter on the powerhouse soccer team. Vanessa was the Rookie of the Year in the Big East Conference in 1999. She was a key player on a team that was consistently ranked in the top five in the nation, and that has won 2 national championships in the past decade.
She achieved excellence as a student and as an athlete. Vanessa was committed and determined. She had one brutally tough class that led her to tears. The librarian would often have to wake her up at 2 in the morning so that she could go back to her room for some sleep. As an athlete she had to have ankle surgery one season, but came back to lead a defense that allowed just 5 goals in one 19 game stretch.
She was excellence. Not excellent, excellence. It was her state of being. She was as close to perfection as any high achiever I ever covered in my broadcasting career.
My passion for educating families on how valuable it can be to become a true college student-athlete partially comes from having reported on people like Vanessa. This world needs more people with “fire within” like her. I passionately believe an answer for companies is to look to hire more college athletes upon their graduation – especially ones with high GPA’s from top academic institutions.
With the Colts reaching the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning is certainly an example of striving for excellence. He is constantly working to perfect his craft, and leaving no stone unturned. In practice from time to time he has the managers soak footballs in water until they are soggy and waterlogged. He throws them. Some people wonder why he does such a thing.
A few years ago, the Colts made the Super Bowl in Miami. Steady rain fell during the whole game causing the balls to be waterlogged and slippery. Because he had practiced with them, he was ready. His opponent, Rex Grossman of Chicago, struggled.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi