--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excellence is to do a common thing in an…" description: "\"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.\" — Booker T. Washington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/booker-t-washington-2277_common_excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an_102889.png" --- # Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way. ![“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” quote by Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/booker-t-washington-2277_common_excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an_102889.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/booker-t-washington-2277_common_excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an_102889.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/booker-t-washington-2277_common_excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an_102889.png) > “Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness comes from performing ordinary tasks in extraordinary ways. **In simple terms:** Do common work with uncommon excellence. Key Takeaway Innovation elevates routine work. Themes excellence innovation work ethic creativity Mood inspired determined Type advice leadership When to use this quote - craftsmanship - software development - teaching - cooking Key Concepts quality vs. quantity mindset shift Practical Applications - Redesign processes for impact - Focus on unique value Questions to Reflect On - What ordinary task could you transform today? - How does novelty affect perceived value? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) ## Related quotes > [“Excellence is doing a common thing in an uncommon way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/excellence-is-doing-a-common-thing-in-an-uncommon-way/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The man who has learned to do something better than anyone else, has learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-man-who-has-learned-to-do-something-better-than-anyone-else-has/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Do what is uncommon; do it in the uncommon way”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/do-what-is-uncommon-do-it-in-the-uncommon-way/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“A miracle is often the willingness to see the common in an uncommon way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-benshea/a-miracle-is-often-the-willingness-to-see-the-common-in-an-uncommon/) [Noah Benshea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-benshea/) > [When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/when-you-can-do-the-common-things-of-life-in-an-uncommon-way-you-will/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [“Remember, the most common thing about common sense is how uncommon it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-jennings/remember-the-most-common-thing-about-common-sense-is-how-uncommon-it/) Jason Jennings > [When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/when-you-do-the-common-things-in-life-in-an-uncommon-way-you-will/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [“When you do the common things in an uncommon way, you'll command the attention of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/when-you-do-the-common-things-in-an-uncommon-way-you-ll-command-the/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [To me, it's a common thing to go somewhere and box there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleksandr-usyk/to-me-it-s-a-common-thing-to-go-somewhere-and-box-there/) [Oleksandr Usyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleksandr-usyk/) > [Keep it simple. Let's do the obvious thing -the common thing- but let's do it uncommonly well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-burnett/keep-it-simple-let-s-do-the-obvious-thing-the-common-thing-but-let-s/) [Leo Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-burnett/) > [Common Sense is not a common thing, for the common people…being uncommon holds it as a birth right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santanu-mishra/common-sense-is-not-a-common-thing-for-the-common-people-being/) [Santanu Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santanu-mishra/) > [I think that's what poetry does. It allows people to come together and identify with a common thing that is outside of themselves, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-think-that-s-what-poetry-does-it-allows-people-to-come-together-and/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [What I loved about TV when I was a kid was that no matter where you came from or who you were - black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schneider/what-i-loved-about-tv-when-i-was-a-kid-was-that-no-matter-where-you/) [Dan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schneider/) > [We Once Had Thing in Common, Now The Only Thing We Share is The Refrigerator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ofwgkta/we-once-had-thing-in-common-now-the-only-thing-we-share-is-the/) [OFWGKTA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ofwgkta/) > [The most common thing that I get is, ‘Am I the only one who doesn’t think that Anna Kendrick is pretty? And youre like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kendrick/the-most-common-thing-that-i-get-is-am-i-the-only-one-who-doesn-t/) [Anna Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kendrick/) ## More by Booker T. Washington > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [I let no man drag me down so low as to make me hate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-let-no-man-drag-me-down-so-low-as-to-make-me-hate-him/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-wisest-among-my-race-understand-that-agitations-of-social/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-began-learning-long-ago-that-those-who-are-happiest-are-those-who/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [If you truly want to measure the success of a man, you do not measure it by a position he has achieved, but by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/if-you-truly-want-to-measure-the-success-of-a-man-you-do-not-measure/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The time will come when the Negro in the South will be accorded all the political rights which his ability, character, and material possessions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-time-will-come-when-the-negro-in-the-south-will-be-accorded-all/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Kada smo u kontaktu sa drugim čovekom, mi mu ili pomažemo ili smetamo. Nema trećeg: ili ga vučemo na dole, ili ga izvlačimo na…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/kada-smo-u-kontaktu-sa-drugim-ovekom-mi-mu-ili-poma-emo-ili-smetamo/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [We must reinforce argument with results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/we-must-reinforce-argument-with-results/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Mere connection with what is known as a superior race will not permanently carry an individual forward unless the individual has worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/mere-connection-with-what-is-known-as-a-superior-race-will-not/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/no-race-that-has-anything-to-contribute-to-the-markets-of-the-world/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The highest test of the civilization of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-highest-test-of-the-civilization-of-any-race-is-in-its/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The Negro is not the man farthest down. The condition of the coloured farmer in the most backward parts of the Southern States of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-negro-is-not-the-man-farthest-down-the-condition-of-the-coloured/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“it takes no more time to be polite to every one than it does to be rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/it-takes-no-more-time-to-be-polite-to-every-one-than-it-does-to-be/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The older I grow, the more I am convinced that there is no education which one can get from books and costly apparatus that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-older-i-grow-the-more-i-am-convinced-that-there-is-no-education/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) [Explore all 174 Booker T. Washington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Booker T. 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