Perfection is the enemy. It’s a nice goal to strive for, and occasionally there are times where it may even be achievable, but in general it’s a false promise. As a North Star to guide our efforts, I love the idea of perfection, as a practical reality – it gets in the way of completion.
The perfect business, body and romance are certainly things any sane person would want. However, reality needs to set into any analysis of what is both possible and what is acceptable.
For example, the ‘Perfect Business’ would be where clients throw money at you, demand no special treatment and your employees adore you and work for free. There are several problems with that ideal – those clients don’t exist and those employees – well they generally have rent, kids and live that have needs.
Does that mean you shouldn’t build a business? Heck no. The only way to create anything is to get in the muck and start shoveling. Find clients, who will be demanding, needy, annoying, and give them what they need. Those employees – treat them well and they’ll reward you with hard work, loyalty, creativity and hopefully longevity. Build a new type of business, one that cares about your clients and your staff and you will headaches galore, and you will have rewards of money, satisfaction and joy.
Are you the perfect you? Get started on being the best you, and enjoying your short life. Don’t wait for perfection.
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We all want the perfect body – there are multiple industries devoted to the idea that we don’t have it, and they can give it to us with prepacked meals, workouts, beauty regimens and surgical procedures. All of which will fix us short term and their effects will fade over time. Perfection also comes in the mirror. Are you the perfect you? Then you are perfect and the Equinox models may be selling you something else, but don’t buy it. Get started on being the best you, and enjoying your short life. Don’t wait for perfection.
Romance is the same. The perfect girl. God how many times a day do I hear that phrase? “I’m looking for the perfect man” is the only phrase that I hear more often. Forget perfection – it’s what is holding you back from finding the relationship you want. Find 80%, put up with some annoying habits, less than rockhard abs and pornstar performance in the bedroom. If you want a stable loving attentive forgiving relationship, you need to bring that to the table, and start by accepting that Perfection is a myth put out by Madison Avenue.
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I’ve spent the last 30 years working with people in the corporate world, the private sector and in individual coaching – here’s what I’ve learned. People will use Perfection as an excuse to put off success. They let seeking perfection become a goal in and of itself, and they lose sight of their real goals.
Sitting on my desk right now is a postcard announcing a book for one of my coaching clients. It’s gorgeous. This book cover will grab attention from across the room. There’s one many problem though – the book isn’t done. The author is still “working on it.” My books are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. My first book covers were atrocious, they were so bad that I threw the last of them out. My second book covers were better.
Done is better than not. My crappy ugly books got me to my second, and then to my third and so on. Each time I do a book I improve on design, layout, content. Because I’m willing to have less than perfect in order to make progress.
Don’t let Perfection be the winning enemy of Done.
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