Personally, I don't see greed as a virtue and I probably never will. I don't think that should be confused with the drive to do your very best at whatever you do. It's a passion for excellence that's engendered when we are small and hopefully increases as we mature. It's part of our character and needs to be cultivated. I know the Boy Scouts do this beginning with their Cub Scout program:
In fact, doing my best is just as important to me as it is to be kind. Unfortunately, as a society, we have embraced values that bring out mediocrity even in the best of people. People are constantly looking for that great deal while often never realizing the effect that those deals have on excellence. The diving industry is a great example of that. We have buckled to fictitious market pressures and priced our classes so low to the point that it's quite difficult to make any money to keep our dreams alive. In other words, it's not the dive shop owner who is being greedy. It's society in general and we have let them back us into a corner that seems to breed mediocrity. Some of us have values that won't let that happen.
While others are cutting corners, a few of us are still striving for excellence. Sure, we often clash in how we seek excellence and I hope I say this next part without hurting feelings. Some endeavor to keep their courses long and arduous in an effort to retain their excellence. We often refer to that methodology as "Old School" and those of us who reject this method can get rather smug by how we've evolved. Why? Because we seek excellence by continual evolution. We look at every skill with a critical eye to it's intrinsic value. We don't cut out a skill to "dumb down" the curricula as our Old School friends would suggest. We are actually looking to infuse efficiency and even fun into our program. I make no bones about it: my impetus is for my students to have FUN. My goal as a Scuba Instructor is to make my classes a game with a purpose. I learned this from Boy Scouts and it's a famous concept made popular by Lord Baden Powell, the creator of the Boy Scout movement. I stress when I cover my three big rules of dive safety, that the second rule is you can call a dive at any time, for any reason with no questions asked. That includes if you're just not having fun. In fact, if you're not having fun, we need to stop and regroup to figure out why. Fun is my motivator. It's why most people learn to dive in the first place. I like fun and dive safety only increases our fun because accidents and injuries are never ever fun.
But does it really matter how we strive for excellence? Oh sure, it might matter to the individual we are training. Some like Old School while others appreciate my kinder, gentler and evolved approach.
Mind you, our striving for excellence has little to do with the agency that we have chosen. Sure, we think it does and that's why we chose that particular agency. In reality, we would strive for excellence even if we were doing something else. Heck, I strive for excellence in how I run ScubaBoard. There are a ton of people who gladly tell me how I'm doing it wrong and how they can do it better. Look at all the other forums that have popped up because of that belief. Except for one, and for very personal reasons, I have allowed them to use ScubaBoard to facilitate their launch. Every one of them is striving for excellence in their own way and I respect that. But you know, when they tell me how I'm doing it wrong I stop and listen to them. I reflect on what they are saying and quite often I incorporate their ideas here on ScubaBoard. No, not every idea will work here and some I find to be against my personal values. Yes, I'm sure that one day another Scuba Forum or site will pass me and ScubaBoard will be old hat. That's the price of excellence. You can't stop seeking it and sooner or later someone will outdo you.
