The claim isn't simply that excellence requires effort—it's that accident and excellence are categorically incompatible, which cuts deeper than mere motivation. Aristotle is saying excellence has a *nature* that demands intention: you cannot stumble into mastery the way you might stumble into luck. A pianist who performs brilliantly at a recital didn't achieve that through random finger movements; every note reflects thousands of deliberate choices. The insight matters because it absolves us of the tired excuse that talent is mysterious or that success is somehow luck's province—instead, it places excellence squarely in the realm of habit and conscious will.