Isn’t it funny when unsuccessful people blame their lack of action on perfectionism?
Waiting to apply for that job until their resume is just right…
Only to have someone else get the job with a good enough resume.
Or waiting to ask that person out on a date…
Only to watch them get swept off their feet by someone else who wasn’t waiting for the perfect time and the perfect thing to say.
Or holding off on launching that new business until everything was perfectly in place…
Only to have someone more motivated and action-oriented launch the exact same business and steal all the potential customers.
It seems like the only thing “perfectionists” ever get perfect is the ability to watch other people succeed… imperfectly.
…And then complain about it.
I got really good at that myself, in my younger days, before I realized something vitally important:
Those people who were stepping over me to take all the things I wanted in life didn’t give a damn about being perfect.
They weren’t sitting around waiting for the stars and planets to align.
They weren’t waiting for permission to take action.
No…
They understood that “so-so” efforts are usually more than enough to get the job done.
Especially if you take action fast, before the “perfectionists.”
You can always improve as you go. You *will* make mistakes and people *will* criticize you.
But, you keep your eye on the prize, and you adjust your course, and…
You keep moving forward and keep getting better… *as you go.*
Things will never be perfect. You’ll never be perfect.
So just embrace that truth and, suddenly, your perfectionism is seen for what it really is…
Fear of failure.
Fear of not measuring up.
Fear of being “not enough.”
You’ll also start to notice that the people criticizing you are usually just the other “perfectionists” anyway.
They’re sitting around waiting for the perfect time or the perfect circumstances. And their criticisms are just their own frustration over the fact that you’re taking action, getting things done, making it look easy, and… they aren’t.
So what did I do with this realization?
I stopped waiting.
Instead of waiting to quit the job I hated until I had a perfect business idea, perfectly implemented and up and running perfectly…
I just got started doing whatever little bit I could, during my time off.
It was a disaster. It was nowhere near perfect. But it was *good enough* for a start.
I was finally doing *something* and making progress. I was learning as I moved forward.
And I learned everything I needed to know to create my first successful business (long before Speedzen), and was quickly making “good enough” money to escape my dead-end, soul-killing career.
Instead of getting better and better at procrastinating, I was finally getting better and better at developing useful skills.
I stopped worrying about being perfect and started worrying about getting things done, and improving along the way.
I quit my job, asked the woman I loved to marry me, and started a family.
And now I’m here, teaching other people to be proud of being “good enough” and to take action to improve their lives.
So…
What things have you been putting off until the stars are perfectly aligned in your favor?
And what would your life look like 5…10…15 years from now if you just said “screw it” and get started, right now?
I love encouraging others, as it helps me as well.