A King is Always a King.

We have all hopefully had the experience of getting incredibly good service from someone who could have easily done a mediocre job.  These are memorable occasions because the person providing the outstanding service was going out of their way to take care of us.  It could be a flight attendant who moves you to better seats without being asked because you have small children.  It could be the amusement park groundskeeper who does not just give you directions when you ask but walks you to your destination to make sure you reach it.

What these examples have in common is that the employee could just as easily done the bare minimum to service you and you would probably not have noticed.  The flight attendant could have simply ignored your family situation.  The groundskeeper could have pointed in the direction of where you wanted to go and then returned to their work.  But they didn’t.

They did the best job they could for you, regardless of their job responsibilities or expectations.  These types of people tend to put in their best efforts, regardless of what they are doing.

This is best explained by the saying: “A King is always a King.”

The meaning is that a king does not turn his position on and off, he is always a king and acts like it in all situations.  There are certain people who are the same; they do the highest quality of work, regardless of their position or the expectation of others, because they expect the most from themselves.  They know that how you do some things is how you do all things.

If you only do the bare minimum in your work to get paid, are you more or less likely to do other personal things with excellence?  Maybe you will do a better job in your spare time, but you may also get used to doing a lesser job in all things if you do it for so many hours at work.

The opposite can be the case too.  If you excel at work, very often this will transfer to other areas in life as you are used to doing great work.  The other benefit is that you will be known by others as the person who does high quality work and has a strong work ethic regardless of job responsibilities or titles.  This will very often lead to job promotions or business opportunities.

Always doing your best work will also raise your standards as you get used to only doing your work in that way.  You will also have less regrets if you know that you have put in excellent work even if it does not always lead to success.  You will learn from your mistakes and move forward.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“

-Michael Jordan

Basketball Michael Jordan was once asked if he had any regrets.  The notoriously hard charging and competitive Jordan answered that he had no regrets because everything he had done had gotten him to his present super successful state.  He had worked so hard at everything, that even his mistakes were learning experiences that moved him forward.

In other words, Michael Jordan was always Michael Jordan.  If you raise your standards, you will always be striving to maintain those high standards.  Then a King will always be a King.