Going For The Gold
The Tokyo Olympic Games are dominating the news channels, eagerly reporting results of matches, even providing insights into the personal lives of the athletes. And while earning a (gold) medal seems to be the only measure for their success, a closer analysis easily shows us that the simple act of representing their country is a feat worthy of enormous praise.
Luis Ayala
Such is the rum industry too: a distillery does not need to achieve the highest score in a competition in order to be proud of its products. The simple act of being in the market, working hard to develop its own identity, bottling its passion and sharing it with consumers is admirable and inspiring.
But the pursuit of gold or recognition does not end with athletes or producers of retail goods: every person can strive to approach each day as “training” or “preparation” for our own Personal Olympic Games, where –at the end of the day- we review our scores before we go to sleep. Did we represent our “brand” or “country” admirably? Did we embrace sportsmanship in our interactions with others, especially with those we deem to be our “competitors”?
In his poem “On Excellence,” contemporary writer Leo Thomas wrote that:
We are either
moving toward excellence,
or moving away from it.
Excellence does not stand still.
For athletes, listening to their country’s national anthem, while standing on a podium, is a very strong motivation and, when it actually happens, provides a lasting memory to keep motivating them to remain excellent. For lay people like us, our bathroom mirrors are our podiums and our self-satisfaction our anthem.
Chose to be excellent!
Luis Ayala,
Editor and Publisher
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant