When I went to the beach as a child, I often stood at the edge of the shore gazing out to that line where the ocean crossed the sky, and I dreamed of what it might be like to reach the end of the world. Now, as an adult, I revel in taking trips on a boat, chasing a horizon that only moves farther ahead the farther I go.

This is excellence. Not a destination that we reach, but a continuous revelation of new horizons that appear precisely when we believe we've arrived.

The mirage of arrival

Our culture often celebrates mastery as though it were a fixed address – a place where, after sufficient effort, one finally resides. We frame expertise with finality: black belts, doctoral degrees, executive titles. We speak of having "arrived" and design ceremonies to mark these supposed endpoints. This framing isn't accidental; it satisfies our deep psychological need for closure, for a moment when an arduous journey can finally cease.

However, as long as life continues, these supposed endpoints ought only to be mile markers on a continuing path of growth toward greater excellence, a path filled with joy in the moment as we progress toward the future.

It’s a seeming paradox many of the wisest among us have noted. Consider James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, whose work on habit formation and continuous improvement has resonated with millions. Clear challenges the destination mindset with a profound observation about finding satisfaction in the ongoing process rather than just the end result: "When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running."

This insight disrupts our conventional thinking about achievement. Clear's philosophy suggests that excellence isn't about reaching a final state of mastery but about creating systems that generate continuous growth. The satisfaction comes not from completion but from engagement with a well-designed process—one that keeps evolving and adapting.

Recalibration as the true mark of excellence

What frequently distinguishes those who achieve lasting excellence isn't their arrival at some pinnacle, but their willingness to recalibrate their definition of excellence itself. Consider chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who broke the record for the highest chess rating in history. Rather than resting on his accomplishments, Carlsen maintains a mindset of continuous challenge and opportunity-seeking.

Carlsen articulates this perspective with a noteworthy insight: "I think it's always better to be overly confident than pessimistic. I realize sometimes after games that, you know, I was actually way too confident here... But if you're not optimistic, if you're not looking for your chances, you're going to miss opportunities."

His words reveal a crucial aspect of excellence: the balance between confidence in your abilities and openness to new possibilities. For Carlsen, even overconfidence is preferable to missing opportunities through pessimism or excessive caution. This attitude keeps him constantly looking forward, searching for the next opportunity rather than dwelling on the past.

This constant recalibration is psychologically demanding. Each time we master one domain, we must voluntarily return to a sense of incompletion to progress further. While the amateurs celebrate their first published articles, the excellent writers celebrate and then scrutinize their Pulitzer-winning works for the next round of improvements. This isn't neurotic perfectionism1; it's the inevitable consequence of developed perception. The more finely tuned your senses become to your craft, the more apparent its possibilities—and current limitations—become.

Fields themselves evolve, ensuring that even standing still requires constant movement. The programming languages that made one a tech genius in 2000 might barely qualify for an entry-level position today. Medical procedures considered breakthroughs a decade ago are now routine. Excellence isn't a static achievement but a dynamic relationship with an ever-shifting landscape.

The explorer's mindset

There are two approaches to any journey: the tourist seeks destinations to check off a list, while the explorer seeks discoveries that aren't on any map. Excellence demands the latter.

When traveling to Venice, tourists congregate in St. Mark's Square, taking identical photos and following prescribed experiences. Meanwhile, explorers take in St. Mark’s, then wander the back canals, discovering architectural anomalies and conversations with locals that reveal the city's deeper nature. Similarly, in any field, the tourist-mindset practitioner accumulates credentials and follows established paths, while the explorer ventures into unmarked territories where excellence has not yet been defined.

The early modern Portuguese explorers who ventured beyond the Cape of Good Hope weren't simply traveling existing trade routes more efficiently—they were sailing into waters that contemporary maps legendarily marked2 with "Here be dragons." Excellence requires developing a similar comfort with the unmapped and the unknown.

This explorer's mindset transforms how we navigate our fields. Rather than asking, "How can I master what is known?" we begin asking, "What might exist beyond what is currently understood?" Curiosity becomes not just a starting point but a compass along the lifelong journey.

The joy of never-ending beginning

There's an unexpected liberation in abandoning the endpoint mentality—in embracing what Zen tradition calls "shoshin3" or "beginner's mind." The expert is constrained by knowing what "cannot be done," while the beginner attempts the impossible because they don't know better.

When Jeff Bezos was building Amazon, he institutionalized this approach with his famous "Day 14" philosophy. Despite becoming one of the world's largest companies, Amazon continues to operate as though it's still in startup mode—maintaining the adaptive flexibility and experimental approach of beginners rather than the rigid processes typically associated with established enterprises.

I’ve experienced this personally after decades of writing. I find that when I push myself into unfamiliar themes, genres, and assignments, that I rediscover the creative electricity that originally drew me to the craft. Excellence isn't to be found in the polished rehashing of what I’ve already done, but in the grasping exploration of what I’ve yet to accomplish.

Navigating without maps

True excellence often requires venturing beyond where existing knowledge can guide you. Einstein didn't advance physics by mastering existing equations more thoroughly than others; he questioned the fundamental assumptions those equations rested upon.

When documentary filmmaker Ken Burns began his career, he was told that archival photographs couldn't sustain viewer interest without talking heads and reenactments. Rather than mastering the established documentary best practices, he developed what became known as "the Ken Burns effect5"—a new visual technique that changed the medium itself.

The most excellent individuals often struggle to articulate exactly how they navigate their domains. Ask a truly innovative chef how they create new dishes, and you'll rarely get a straightforward methodology. They've developed intuitive wayfinding tools that transcend explicit knowledge.

Fellow travelers vs. destinations

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of excellence is that its value lies less in where you're trying to go and more in who you're traveling alongside. The journey toward excellence creates relationships that become their own reward—connections forged through shared struggle and mutual discovery.

This truth is eloquently captured in the creative partnership between filmmaker Martin Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Their collaboration, spanning over four decades and resulting in numerous acclaimed films, exemplifies how excellence emerges from a relationship. As described in an analysis6 of their work: "The collaboration between a film director and editor is akin to a good marriage. It's a relationship based on trust, respect, and loyalty."

This metaphor of marriage illuminates what truly matters in the pursuit of excellence. Just as a good marriage isn't measured by individual accomplishments but by the quality of the relationship itself, excellence isn't merely about the products created but about the relationships formed and the conversations generated through the creative process. Scorsese and Schoonmaker's body of work stands as testament not just to their individual talents but to the unique generative blend of their collaboration—a partnership that has enriched cinema and their own lives immeasurably.

Some of our most important teachers aren't formal mentors but fellow travelers we encounter along unmarked paths. The barista who takes extraordinary care with each pour-over coffee might teach the surgeon something about precision that no medical textbook contains. The obsessive gardener might reveal something to the software architect about organic system design that no programming manual includes.

The horizon extends and extends

In my travels, I eventually realized that the furthest distance I could see from the shore wasn't the culmination of a journey, but simply a vantage point—a momentary perspective from which to glimpse what might lie ahead as I advance along a growth spiral.

It turns out, excellence lies in continuing always to depart. It's about maintaining the courage to leave behind what we've accomplished for what we haven't yet imagined. The horizon never arrives, not because we aren't progressing, but precisely because we are—because our movement itself creates new possibilities for where we might go next.

In this ever-ongoing journey lies the paradoxical fulfillment that neither arrival nor achievement can ever provide: the ever-progressing conversation between what we are becoming and what we might yet be.

Notes

1 The Excellence Paradigm – Holding High Standards Without Perfectionism on Brainz.
2 Here Be Dragons on National Geogrpahic.
3 How to foster ‘shoshin’ on Psyche.
4 Elements of Amazon’s Day 1 Culture on Amazon.
5 Ken Burns Effect on Cloudinary.
6 Scorsese & Schoonmaker: Symbiotic Filmmaking on ACMI.