Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887

''Hold yourself responsible
for a higher standard than 
anybody else expects of you
Never excuse yourself."

This quote means we have to take action and became something more than what people expect from us. We need to push ourselves a little more. Sometimes people need to try harder more than their expectations. There is basically no excuse what so ever to not try to go higher than our expectations. We have a potential to live or accomplish something. However we don't get what we want, due to the fact that people don't try harder than their expectations. We have to put a bit effort in order to accomplish something. There is no excuse at all. If people expect something from you, go higher than their expectations. Its a good thing in a way. People change the way they look at you. I'm not quite sure, if this is what the quote means. I am a little bit confused in defining what it means.