People forget how fast you did a job, they just remember how well you did it. A real craftsman wants you to inspect his work.  Sloppy people hide their work.  If anyone finds fault with it they blame their equipment, their boss, or their environment, etc.  "Excellence" for the child of God, means doing it "as unto the Lord" (to be presented to Him).

Talent is important, but it's not enough.  You need a strong work ethic.  Longfellow wrote, "  The heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight.  But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night."  We approach commitment in one of two ways:  we either focus on the external or the internal.  When we focus on the external, we allow circumstances to determine the outcome.  Because circumstances constantly change, our commitment level changes like the wind.  But not Jephthah.  Listen: "I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back." (Jud 11:35)  That's commitment!

Each choice is a crossroads: one that will either confirm or compromise your commitment.  When you come to a crossroad you can recognize it because:  (a.) a personal decision is required; 

(b) the decision will cost you something; (c) others will likely be influenced by it.  Your choices are the only things you can truly control.  You cannot control your circumstances, nor can you control others.  But by focusing on your choices and making them with integrity, you control your commitment.  And that is what separates success from failure!

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