Key points

• Repetition and empirical evidence add a new chapter to the quest for universal knowledge.
• Perfection in any discipline is never an accident; it is crafted.
• You cannot buy integrity and you cannot sell integrity—you have to be integrity.

How important are integrity, merit, effort, and competence in life? When it comes to integrity, it cannot be bought or sold; you have to *have *integrity. How has integrity been applied? How is integrity applied? Does it matter? Has it ever mattered? How do you know?

History has demonstrated and continues to show that, although opinions, superstitions, and misconceptions do, at times, shape societies, these incongruous beliefs have ultimately been revealed for what they are: shallow, at other times deceptive distortions, even sometimes leading to socially destructive circumstances.

Then, again, at other times, they are socially uplifting. Should this be a concern? If so, why? Especially when there is no harm. But what if there is harm? What then? (Bretag, 2013; Duckworth & Gross, 2014; Friedman et al., 2024; Risen, 2016; Stanovich & West, 2008).

History demonstrates that what lasts (and is eternal) is the commitment to the universal laws of physics (which cannot be changed) and the universal biological web of life. Research in these fields is about discovery. It is about this process that ultimately leads to developing, enhancing, and most certainly advancing skills and knowledge for oneself, and of course, this means society itself.

The earliest example of this would have been the shaping of a stone tool. Achieving this outcome would have required consciousness and self-reflective intellectual insight, which enabled the physical act of creating this stone tool at some time, which could be described as the dawn of humanity and consciousness (Stout et al., 2008;** **Tennie et al., 2009; Wynn & Coolidge, 2010).

This extensive evolutionary process, of one or two million or more years, ultimately led to the Golden Age of Greece (480–323 BCE), which continued with the same principle of advancing skills and knowledge, which now also involved research evidence that this was a time where citizens were now engaging in writing, discussions, debates, and most certainly analyzing and trying to understand the self and the world in which they lived.

History shows that three notable citizens, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, regularly stand out among many, many others. Socrates taught that it was through an active process of persistent questioning (which is now called the Socratic Method) that skills and knowledge advanced. History suggests that Plato continued or perhaps expanded this ongoing pursuit of “truth,” which also included his efforts and ongoing quest of trying recognize and understand moral circumstances and to identify intellectual excellence.

The research suggests that Aristotle emphasized that skills and knowledge are developed through repeated practice and personal effort. As I wrote in Responsibility Theory in 2014, repetition is one of the keys to knowledge. However, as noted, this universal truth dates back some 2,000 years prior to this. For example, Archimedes discovered buoyancy through testing rather than guesswork. Hippocrates advanced medicine by carefully observing and adhering to ethical standards (Batista, 2015; Kotsonis, 2023; Stahl, 2013; Stonehouse et al., 2011; Stout & Chaminade, 2007).

As for architecture and engineering, the Parthenon still stands because it was built on universal engineering principles, with one of its visual aims linked to symmetry and proportion. None of this could have been achieved without effort and the application of merit and competence. The same, of course, is true for all of the universal structures that are standing now after millennia (Barletta, 2011; Lehman & Weinman, 2018).

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As history informs, all of this indicates that these individuals (and of course, many others) laid the groundwork for what eventually became known and referred to as the Renaissance. Time and the ongoing quest for knowledge, which eventually developed into what is described as the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, presented the world with the scientific method, which changed the direction of education and society forever (Chang et al., 2014; Francescutto & Papanikolaou, 2011; Gauld, 1993; Golinski, 2011; Hugerat et al., 2011; Tieleman, 2025; Yapijakis, 2009).

Sport and the Pursuit of Excellence

Then there is sport. Sport reveals the lesson of what is required to achieve excellence. All Olympic gold medalists and world champions in every discipline objectively inform that these achievements are not gifts but the result of discipline, dedication, determination, perseverance, and resilience. And this entire concept began in ancient Greece.

In the 21st century, MacNamara et al. (2010) inform that psychological factors are key to elite performance. This includes commitment, setting goals, maintaining focused attention, and applying what is physically, mentally, and emotionally required to achieve their potential and hopefully win in the sport of their choice (Galli & Vealey, 2008; Gupta & McCarthy, 2022; MacNamara et al., 2010).

Motivation, Magnificent Monuments, and Enduring Excellence

The pursuit of excellence, and all else that has been described self-evidently, since forever, involves art. Step inside the cave in Lascaux, France, and stare in wonder at what took place in this cave some 17,000 years ago. Then leap forward to the present time step inside the Sistine Chapel: Here, too, is proof of commitment, just like the Lascaux cave paintings. All of these works of art emphasize the same universal truth of relentless effort and commitment in the search for perfection. All of which can be achieved only by the application of hard work.

We can extend this to Michelangelo’s *David *and the Pietà, both of which are “nothing more” than inanimate stone. And yet, at the same time, one could argue that what is presented and what we are seeing, what we have here, is the “living proof“ that marble, when shaped with skill and vision, creates its own reality. But why and how? The same could also be said of everything Leonardo da Vinci achieved, and, of course, of the many others who live in this realm of art. Which I believe is powerfully expressed by the title of the movie The Agony and the Ecstasy, which perhaps also describes life and what needs to be done to achieve—everything and anything!

Perfection in the arts, or any discipline, is and has never been a matter of luck. The arts, in all forms, are the visible and auditory outcome of discipline, repetition, and relentless pursuit of mastery. What about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony? What about Mozart’s compositions? Their artistry has endured through the centuries because what they created was, and still is, recognized as a universal standard of excellence in classical music, which can and is also applied to the works of Shakespeare.

Also consider ballet. In this discipline, we have Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev, two of the most renowned male dancers whose names have stood the test of time, alongside Anna Pavlova and Margot Fonteyn. In opera, the tenors Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, and Plácido Domingo are consistently mentioned on “greatest of all time” lists. And why is that the case?

Then there are the sopranos such as Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, and Kiri Te Kanawa. The research indicates that the greatness of all these individuals was neither luck nor chance, but the result of persistence, self-motivation, and an unwavering personal commitment to perfecting their craft. Coyle (2009) refers to this as the self-motivated action of deep practice and targeted practice.

Coyle (2009) emphasizes that when someone aims to improve in any activity, the key is “to choose a goal just beyond your present abilities; [and] to target the struggle.” It is this ongoing, persistent, *targeted struggle *that matters. That is because the goals (at that moment in time) are just beyond current abilities.

Consequently, change will occur only when targeted struggle and deep practice eventually develop into advanced, skilled practice and become the ongoing, unrelenting requirement of highly skilled deep practice. This then leads to the application of ongoing hard goals and stretch goals (Sadler, 1989).

From a neurological perspective, Coyle explains that this persistent, repeated, targeted practice also leads to an “increase [in] learning velocity,” which subsequently enhances both cognitive and motor skill potential. As such, the secret of success is not a secret (Chaffin & Imreh, 2002; Coyle, D., 2009; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Duckworth et al., 2007; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Elliot & McGregor, 2001; Ericsson et al., 1993; Murray, 2022; Nordin-Bates, 2012; Vallerand et al, 2007; Zimmerman, 2002).

Where to from here? The choice is yours to make, and it will have consequences.

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