“Champions don’t create the standards of excellence. The standards of excellence create champions.[*] High standards are consistent across top performers. When you look at any athlete or team that performs on a level beyond what you can explain by luck or talent, you find a commitment to high standards. The New England Patriots and their coach Bill Belichick have won more games over a twenty-year span than any other NFL team. Not only that, but they also did it with a salary cap designed to level the playing field and make dynasties like theirs impossible. When all-star cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was the best in the game at his position, was a few minutes late for a practice one day, Coach Belichick sent him home immediately.[ 1] Belichick didn’t make a big deal about it, but he was firm. Revis wouldn’t be treated differently from other players. Coach didn’t care what star players got away with on other teams. Revis was a New England Patriot, and he had to rise to the team’s standards. The best teachers expect more from their students and from themselves. And more often than not, the students rise to meet those expectations. The best leaders expect more from people; they hold them to the same standards they hold themselves—a higher standard than most would otherwise know is possible.” — Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results by Shane Parrish