Good Enough, Never Is

All in all, it was an interesting Ethic Studies lecture, learning how the Universe was formed according to different religious perspectives and also from a scientific angle. And... i get to see my roommates ( for the uninitiated, they are Wong Wan Qing, Justin Tan and Khor See Sern ) present their findings and research on How The Universe Was Created.

Wong giving a presentation on The Creation of Universe according to Hinduism

Mok Zi Hong ( or Mok Mok ) and Kai Ming a.k.a. The Boy Who Is Ever Funny clinging on to every word without so much as batting an eyelid.

And Justin and See Sern controlling the computer ( Justin trying to show his middle finger but fortunately, it wasn't a very clear shot *hiss at him* )

All in all, i think it was well done, considering the fact that they had only a week's notice and that particular week was filled to the brink with mid-of-semester tests. Oh... i think it's also worthy to take note that they started doing their project on Thursday night from 8 p.m. to 2.30 a.m., and Wong woke up at 5.00 a.m. and started plowing through his presentation again. Very impressive, i'd say.

Well, they were preparing their materials and PowerPoint slides yesterday night in the study room and i was sitting beside them doing my assignments. Then, another friend of mine walked in. After asking questions about their presentation, he asked them, 'why do you need to do it so nicely ? Just simply do and the hand up since you only need to pass that subject.' ( Wong at that point was creating a movie clip for his presentation ).

I felt a bit 'hot' at that time. There was Wong, working his ass off on this presentation in which he took pride in and this friend just came in and pour cold water on him. I looked up and i told him flatly in his face,

"EITHER YOU DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, OR YOU DON'T DO IT AT ALL. It's that frigging simple."

Sometimes, after examinations and teachers hand down my exam paper marks, and if i see that i get less than what i expected to get, i can get 'a bit' disappointed and sad. But i always get this phrase thrown at me by my friends, ' ai ya... getting ****** marks is good enough la, no need aim so high ma...'.. and i hate it everytime. EVERY. BLOODY. SINGLE. TIME.

Good is not good where better is expected. Never settle for something good when great can be achieved. It is not that i am unsatisfiable or i aim high, not at all. I feel sad because i know my ability, and my ability says i can do better than that. I will never, ever accept mediocrity. I can't imagine anyone, ANYONE becoming a success who doesnt give his game in life everything i got.

I will not be satisfied on something i know i can do better. I do not settle nor compromise for a second rated thing when i know i could have done better, much better. Anybody who accepts mediocrity - in school, on the job, in life - is a person who compromise and he can never be a leading person in his field. When a leader compromises, the WHOLE organization compromises.

Good is not good where better is expected

Martin Luther King, Jr said it best in his speech,

'If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well'

Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest artist ever lived in his time

In his later years, Pablo Picasso was not allowed to roam an art gallery unattended, for he had previously been discovered in the act of trying to improve on one of his old masterpieces. If Pablo here, who's name had been recited on every lips of mankind, are always looking for improvement, who are we to say we are 'good enough' ? The biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement. There's always room at the top.

Do your work, not just your work and no more, but a little more for the lavishing's sake - and that little more is worth all the rest. Excellence implies more than competence - it implies a striving for the higher possible standard. And sometimes, doing our best may not often be enough to conquer all. It is not enough to do your best; you must first know what to do, and then do your best.

It is not enough to do your best; you must first know what to do, and then do your best

St Francis de Sales said, ' Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.' We don't always have to wish of who we could be, or what we should be, but be what we are right now, and do so perfectly. I don't want to be a second rated person when i know i can be a champion in life. I want to be all that i am capable of becoming. I will strive to be the very best i can with everything i have.

I will NEVER settle for mediocrity, EVER.

'He is not great who is greatly good' - William Shakespeare