There is no excellence without labor. One cannot dream oneself into either usefulness or happiness.

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.

Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good and alike in excellence for these wish well alike to each other qua good and they are good in themselves.

I had spent many years pursuing excellence because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom and that was far more important.

The mandate I have received and for which I will speak with heart and head to implement over the next seven years had its four pillars - an inclusive citizenship equality and participation and respect in a creative society creating an excellence in everything we Irish do.

Opportunity expands when there is excellence and choice in education when taxes are lowered when every citizen has affordable portable health insurance and when constitutional freedoms are preserved.

Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard a desire for excellence and a belief in our right and our responsiblity to be equal members of society.

Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change.

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for perfection is God's business.

Mediocre men work at their best men seeking excellence strive to do better.

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.

Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.

Such discussions help us very little to enjoy what has been well done in art or poetry to discriminate between what is more and what is less excellent in them or to use words like beauty excellence art poetry with a more precise meaning than they would otherwise have.

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception it is a prevailing attitude.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.

What starts the process really are laughs and slights and snubs when you are a kid. If your anger is deep enough and strong enough you learn that you can change those attitudes by excellence personal gut performance.

When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry in painting and in music.