Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

Daniel distinguished himself above the others because he was excellent. To imagine the circumstances he found himself in and yet he walked in excellence is amazing. The same applies to Joseph, sold into slavery yet he was so excellent in what he did no matter the environment, he was always promoted.

Many want to be promoted and to excel but they do not want to be excellent. We live in a world where mediocrity is accepted and celebrated and many have become lazy not to pursue excellence.

The Bible tells us that whatever we do we should do with all our might as unto the Lord. Why then would we want to be mediocre in what we do as unto the Lord? To be excellent means more work, it means we have to pay close attention to what we do, it means we have to go the extra mile. The truth is, many people are OK doing the bare minimum forgetting that the extra mile is where most opportunities are found.

Daniel was so good in what he did that the king sought to promote him and when his enemies tried to look for anything in his life to use against him, they found none. This means Daniel was consistent in both his public and private life.

Excellence will open doors and attract promotion and favor in your life. Daniel was so good and consistent he was able to serve several kings in his lifetime. When you are excellent and faithful in what you do, people will always look for you because your work will speak for you.

Remember excellence is not necessarily perfection, it is doing ordinary things in an extraordinary manner.