“Where e’er thou art, act well thy part.”
This timeless mantra, often linked to David O. McKay, isn’t just about doing your job — it’s about doing it well, wherever you are, whatever the assignment. Whether you’re on a stage, on a job site, or sitting at your kitchen table sorting bills, how you show up — really show up —
matters.
When I think of this idea, I think of my brother Dan.
We were teenagers once, thrown into a church dance festival — not exactly our scene. We were much more at home on the ballfield than in front of a crowd doing synchronized grapevines. But the assignment was clear: learn the routine and perform. I found an easier dance and took that route. Dan? He locked in. He wasn’t naturally gifted at dancing, but he learned the routine cold — step by step, spin by spin. Not only did he perform it, but he remembered the choreography for years. Why? Because once he commits, he sees it through.
But that wasn’t new. Dan had been that way for a long time.
When he was about 12, he had a paper route. Every day. Rain, snow, whatever. Sundays were brutal — heavy papers, early hours. One house on the route had a vicious dog. You had to walk into the dog’s chain radius to get the paper on the porch. One morning, I was helping him. The dog growled low and showed its teeth. Dan walked up anyway — because the job was to deliver the paper to the porch. As we walked away, the dog lunged and bit Dan in the back of the thigh. He just muttered through clenched teeth, “He bit me,” and kept walking. Bloody leg and all.
Fast forward 45 years. Dan’s still that guy. Respected career. Awesome family. Loyal friend. I guarantee if you asked his colleagues, they’d say, “Dan’s the one who always delivers.”
There’s a quote: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
And Dan lives that. Whether it’s parenting, work, church, or a dance number, he shows up the same — with heart, grit, and consistency.
That kind of integrity matters in life. And it really matters in business. You don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be dependable. Be the one who does the hard thing when it’s inconvenient. Get out of bed when you’d rather stay under the covers. Follow through when no
one’s watching. Fix the fence. Write the note. Deliver the dang paper.
If that’s not who you’ve been, decide to become that person now.
The one who shows up. The one who finishes. The one who does the things the other 99% won’t.
Learn the dance. Deliver the paper.
And build a life — and a legacy — that lasts.
