Did Booker T. Washington say "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way"?

Q: Did Booker T. Washington say "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way"?

Not confirmed. Widely credited to Washington and genuinely rooted in his writing — he twice used the phrase "do a common thing in an uncommon manner" in Up from Slavery (1901). But the polished maxim "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way" is a later condensation, not a verbatim line, and is also loosely mis-credited to Albert Einstein.

Who really said it

Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way

Attributed to Booker T. Washington 1856–1915 · American educator, orator, and founder of Tuskegee Institute

Attributed Free to reuse

Widely credited to Washington and genuinely rooted in his writing — he twice used the phrase “do a common thing in an uncommon manner” in Up from Slavery (1901). But the polished maxim “Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way” is a later condensation, not a verbatim line, and is also loosely mis-credited to Albert Einstein.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Unconfirmed quote & credit

“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way” Adapted from Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery (1901) — his words were "do a common thing in an uncommon manner."

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In context

Evoking the world of Booker T. Washington — American educator, orator, and founder of Tuskegee Institute. Theme: "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The real line is in Up from Slavery

Source work: Up from Slavery: An Autobiography (1901)
Genuine wording: “…do a common thing in an uncommon manner” (chapters XIII & XVI)
Popular form: “Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way” — a later paraphrase

As I have said, I believe that my race will succeed in proportion as it learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner; learns to do a thing so thoroughly that no one can improve upon what it has done; learns to make its services of indispensable value.

From chapter XVI (“Europe”). Washington uses nearly the same phrase in chapter XIII, telling of anyone who “learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner—had solved his problem, regardless of the colour of his skin.” The condensed “Excellence is…” maxim appears in neither.

Up from Slavery — full text at Project Gutenberg

How we verified this

Booker T. Washington twice wrote of doing “a common thing in an uncommon manner” in Up from Slavery (1901) — chapters XIII and XVI.
Quote sites such as Goodreads print the condensed “Excellence is…” form under Washington’s name with no source.
The same line is loosely re-credited to Albert Einstein on other quote pages, with no basis.

Public domain

Up from Slavery was first published in 1901 and is in the public domain in the United States. The one-line “Excellence is…” maxim is a modern condensation of that public-domain text, so no separate rights attach.

Fact-check

Genuine idea, rewritten wording

The line people share is real Washington in substance — but not in wording, and not always under his name.

Booker T. Washington Paraphrase

Washington wrote “manner,” not “way,” and never framed it as a standalone “Excellence is…” aphorism; his actual sentences in Up from Slavery are longer and about racial uplift through skill.

Albert Einstein Misattributed

Some quote sites credit the line to Albert Einstein, with no documented source connecting it to him.

The genuine words are Washington’s, from Up from Slavery (1901): “…learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner.”

Context

What Washington actually meant

For Washington this was not a generic productivity slogan but a strategy for racial advancement: he argued that any person, “regardless of colour,” who learned to “do a common thing in an uncommon manner” would earn respect no community could deny. He tied it to his own experience sweeping a schoolroom at Hampton, and to a Tuskegee graduate who out-produced neighboring white farmers.

“…learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner…”

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Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Work Success

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Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Up from Slavery (full text)gutenberg.org

Project Gutenberg e-text of Washington’s 1901 autobiography — the primary source containing the genuine phrase.

Booker T. Washington quoteslibquotes.com

Sourced-quote collection listing the authentic “uncommon manner” passage.

Goodreads quote pagegoodreads.com

Shows the popular condensed wording credited to Washington without a source.

Einstein misattributionquotefancy.com

Example of the same line wrongly credited to Albert Einstein.

Booker T. Washingtonen.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote’s sourced page — notably does not list the “Excellence is…” wording.

The true author

About Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington

1856–1915 · American educator, orator, and founder of Tuskegee Institute

Born into slavery in Virginia, Booker T. Washington rose to lead the Tuskegee Institute and became the most prominent African American public figure of his era. His 1901 autobiography Up from Slavery preached self-reliance, practical skill, and dignity in labor — the ideas behind this quotation. His accommodationist program was famously contested by W. E. B. Du Bois.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery: An Autobiography (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1901), chaps. 13 and 16.

MLA (9th ed.)

Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery: An Autobiography. Doubleday, Page & Co., 1901.

APA (7th ed.)

Washington, B. T. (1901). Up from slavery: An autobiography. Doubleday, Page & Co.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an-uncommon-way