Pursue Excellence…It will set you apart

One of the outstanding pieces of High Renaissance period artwork is the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. The painting is so appealing to date that people travel thousands of miles to the Vatican to have a look at it. It is one of the masterpieces that immortalize Michelangelo. But why is the Sistine ceiling painting so esteemed to date, with its painter highly regarded hundreds of years after his death? What makes Michelangelo stand out in the world of painted art?

The answer is very simple; Michelangelo did his work with a touch of excellence. That is the reason why whatever the piece he settled to work on turned out to be a masterpiece. He had made excellence his second nature, and as a result, he always produced excellent artwork.

His level of excellence was witnessed when he was working on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He spent several days and nights laying on his back on a scaffold painting the magnificent ceiling. He would work during the day using natural lighting and would then spend several hours in the night painting under the light of several candles.

It is reported that one night, he was stuck on the ceiling of the chapel painting when one of his aides came in to check on him. When he walked in, he found the place lit with candles, but he could not see his master. So the aide shouted, “Michelangelo?” but there was no response. He shouted again, “Michelangelo?” This time he heard some noise from a dark corner behind the post.

He rushed there and found Michelangelo lying on a scaffold, behind the pillar, above the ledge, just next to the rafters with a painting brush on his mouth and the other one on his hand busy painting. Michelangelo was busy putting final touches on the feathers of a small angel behind the post and above the rafters where no one would ever see it. The aide inquired, “What are you doing over there where no one will ever see?” Michelangelo responded without catching a breath, “I am putting final touches on the feathers of a wing of a small angel over here because God will see it.” That was the spirit of the great Michelangelo.

He did every piece of work with a keen focus and sense of excellence. Excellence is a habit that will take you places. Excellence is not a talent; it is not inborn; it is not genetic; it is something you develop through effort and commitment. It is a behavior; it is an attitude; it is a dogma; it is a philosophy; it is a way of life; it is something you choose and develop.

Develop excellence in whatever the trade or area of operation you are in, and you will see the difference. Excellence will set you apart. It will attract recognition from everybody around you because it shines too bright to be ignored. To sum it up in the words of the great Martin Luther King Jr;

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