Good Enough

It was a powerful lesson I learned long ago when I helped a neighborhood dad. Understanding this concept has helped me ever since. I learned to never stop at “good enough.” Let me explain.

The dad recruited a bunch of us kids to help clean an empty store. A new tenant needed it ready so they could put inventory on the counters and shelving. Lots to do for a store opening. I figured the job would be like doing my chores at home, but here, I would get paid. It wasn’t quite that simple. The dad looked at me and said, “Phillip, your job is to manage the business end of this broom.” Sounded kinda’ important, until I realized my job was to sweep the floor. I worked hard. We all did. Even the dad was lifting this and moving that.

Mid-morning, the dad said, “Okay. Break time.” What an incredible idea. Work like a madman; then take a break. He opened a cooler filled with soda-pop. I grabbed an orange. Most kids had their Pepsi. It was the fastest fifteen minutes of my life. Back to work!

It seemed like forever before lunchtime, and my hand was showing signs of blistering, but I heard, “Lunch!” Thirty minutes later we were back at it. The afternoon break couldn’t come soon enough. I wrapped my right hand in a cloth, but my new blister was biting me with every push of the broom. I tried to do it left-handed, and for some reason I still don’t get, left-handed didn’t work for me. “Okay guys, it’s afternoon break time,” the dad said, “Let’s push and get this done. You guys are doing great. We are really close.”

With a clear goal and a dedicated approach, I pressed on. As I was thinking we might never get it cleaned in our one day, I heard, “Okay guys. Good job! Looks fine! Good enough!”

I looked at the windows. They had streaks. I looked at the counters. They still had a grey film on them. And my floors, they were nowhere close to being clean. I wondered how what we had done could be considered good enough by anybody.

When I got home my mom asked how it went. I smiled and held up the cash I had been paid. She smiled back. But something about the experience was nagging at me. Thinking about the dad, I wondered how in the world he could accept such a lame job as being good enough. I lost a little respect for the dad seeing him accept mediocrity. At least he should have gotten the job done well enough that he could say it was not just good enough; it was good.

Over the years, I’ve heard that “good enough” evaluation hundreds, if not thousands of times. Far too many people settle.

“Good” is just past good enough. Why not go past good enough until “good” is reached? Why not go even a little further until “good” becomes “great?” Aiming for “great” or “awesome” or “perfect” is how to stand out. If most people settle, and you don’t, who stands out for recognition, raises, and advancement? You!

Don’t settle for “good enough!”