Downton Abbey - A Measure of Excellence

Over the past several weeks I've been able to catch up on my new favorite television show, "Downton Abbey."  Yes - you read that right! I am a huge fan! (I'll return my man-card!) It's only been recently that I got hooked on this show that takes place post World War I in an age where being proper and having a sense of honor and excellence was had by most. I love Maggie Smith's character the most!!

I'm learning a lot about what it means to strive for excellence.  It seems every character in the show instills some type of excellence.  Now, mind you, not every person on the show is someone that I want my kids to model (O'Brien and Thomas come to mind), but even those characters knows what it means to be proper and to do their job well. The show is filled with values and character traits that seem to be missing in out culture.  Let me give you a few examples:

1. Benevloence
2. Chilvary
3. Honor
4. Charity
5. Loyalty
6. Purpose
7. Self-sacrifce

There are many others, but these stand out to me personally.  So the question is - how do you measure excellence? At what bar do you strive for?  I urge to catch a few episodes of the show and begin to look for ways in which you can instill some of these "classic" values in your life.