Gardner addresses a tension that many people in service-oriented communities feel: is the pursuit of individual excellence selfish? Does focusing on the fullest development of your own capabilities compete with the commitment to serve others and contribute to the common good? His answer is a clear and emphatic no. He argues that the person who develops their capabilities to the fullest is, in most cases, the person who contributes most effectively to the world around them. A doctor who becomes as excellent a physician as they are capable of being serves their patients better than one who settles for adequacy. A teacher who reaches the highest possible level of skill serves their students better. A leader who develops genuine wisdom and capability serves the people who depend on them better. The apparent tension between self-development and service is, in most cases, a false one. The investment in becoming your best is not a withdrawal from others. It is the preparation for serving them more effectively. Gardner does acknowledge cases where this can go wrong: when the pursuit of individual excellence becomes narcissistic self-absorption with no connection to any larger purpose, the argument breaks down. But this is a failure of purpose, not of excellence. The remedy is to ensure that the pursuit of individual excellence is connected to a genuine sense of what the excellence is for, whom it serves, and why it matters.