Excellence is a habit!

Yesterday I had the great privilege of visiting Highpoint University in North Carolina USA and spending time with its President, DR Nido Qubein.

Nido is one of the great masters in all aspects of business and personal development and provides advice and guidance to many successful entrepreneurs and businesses throughout America and internationally.

As President of Highpoint University he has turned a small rural college into an extraordinary campus where dreams come true, where young people from 67 different countries are prepared to take their place in the world and to contribute to global society. They are not just supported in their studies, they are encouraged to set life goals, make presentations in boardrooms, debate issues, video their work, invent new technology and participate in cutting edge research to inform future interventions, such as in the fields of movement and physical therapy. They learn social as well as business etiquette and 95% find employment or are successful in securing postgraduate places, within 6 months of graduating.

As I toured Highpoint University, it was clear that everything reflects and anchors Nido’s underlying philosophy that everyone can be extraordinary and that excellence is a habit. We become extraordinary by understanding what’s most important to us in life and having daily habits which take us in the direction of our goals.

For most people we have three fundamental goals, to have good health, to have family and friends we take care of and spend quality time with and to be financially secure. Yet often we do not do enough to ensure we keep moving in the direction of those goals or we let the pursuit of one disturb forward movement with the other.

Habits of extraordinary people throughout history include:-

· Thinking time

· Encouraging other people

· Adding value

· Embracing change

· Continual growth

Nido encourages us to take time out every day to just think, where am I now? what else can I do? what am I not seeing? How can I improve? If we want to get better at whatever we do, we have to get better ourselves. I was reminded of the words of the great Jim Rohn, ‘we have to work harder on ourselves than we do on our job’. Success is something we attract by the person we become.

People who are excellent at what they do have daily habits of thinking how they can continually improve and also are aware of the importance of encouraging and supporting others. Relationships within our families, our social circle and our employment or businesses are fundamental and extraordinary people are tuned into the needs and feelings of others and offer support as appropriate. This concept is embodied in the amazing statute adjacent to the street named Extraordinary Way. We all need someone to give us a ‘leg up’ from time to time as well as having someone to catch us and give us a helping hand.

More soon, as I continue to reflect on the philosophy of this inspirational teacher and try to do justice in order to integrate for myself and share with others, all I have learned. Watch out for ways of becoming excellent through adding value and staying relevant, embracing change and developing a growth mindset.

Lynne Peyton 28 June 2017 at Highpoint University North Carolina