A Measure of Excellence - Jake [Building in NYC]

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What is virtuous is that which overflows, that which creates, that which is abundant and life-affirming. Virtuosity is measured in the will to imprint what is good and valuable onto the world. What is good and valuable is relative, they say! - but we all know beauty, don’t we? Poor is the man who doesn’t know beauty, robbed by his stubbornness and allegiance to ir-rationality. So here’s where I land on “What is excellent?” and “How do you measure excellence?” What is excellent is the dedicated and fruitful pursuit of creation and abundance. The pursuit of excellence is the pursuit of good, the pursuit of what is valuable, and the pursuit of beauty. The measure of one’s excellence is the vigor of one’s pursuit. Now - How to achieve excellence? Every day, people make things. Some people make things for the first time - a first movement, a first essay, a first commit. Some people make things for the last time - a final breath, a final kiss, a final bon travail. Some of us sink deep into t

How do you achieve excellence? How do you measure excellence? What even is excellence? Here’s my definition, a partial borrowing from Aristotle: Excellence is the dedicated and fruitful pursuit of virtue. Those who are virtuous are excellent. What is virtuous? For this question I prefer to borrow from Nietzsche: What is virtuous is that which overflows, that which creates, that which is abundant and life-affirming. Virtuosity is measured in the will to imprint what is good and valuable onto the world. What is good and valuable is relative, they say! - but we all know beauty, don’t we?…

A Measure of Excellence - Jake [Building in NYC]

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