Aim high with exceptional praise (6)
I believe the answer is:
aspire
'aim high' is the definition.
'exceptional praise' is the wordplay.
'exceptional' indicates an anagram.
'praise' with letters rearranged gives 'ASPIRE'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for aspire that I've seen before include "Set your sights on" , "Have a strong desire to reach an objective" , "Hanker" , "rise to a great height" , "Have lofty aims" .)