Surpass today what you were yesterday, go beyond those of poor skill tomorrow, and exceed those who are skillful later.

The saying frames mastery as a staged, lifelong process: first compete with your past self, then with mediocrity, and only later with true experts. It emphasizes disciplined self-improvement over quick comparison, suggesting that sustainable excellence comes from incremental gains and honest appraisal of one’s current level. The sequence also implies humility and patience—one should not measure oneself against masters prematurely, but build foundations until surpassing lesser skill becomes inevitable. Read this way, the quote functions as a practical ethic of training: daily progress, then consolidation, then eventual transcendence of peers through continued refinement.