I felt the pain of perfection this week. Keenly.
It took every fiber of my being to overcome it and not panic.
I discovered that I had sent out something that was very important to me with a typo or two and probably a grammar error or five. And it went to more than a few people who are very important to me (in life in general but also business). Sigh.
Overcoming my driving need for things to be perfect may very well be a life-long battle for me.
To not produce something, with my name attached to it, that is not sheer perfection (which doesn’t exist anyway) goes against every, single fiber of my being.
I come from a corporate and personal background that meant striving for perfection was a constant in my life (this is an incredibly common symptom of children of alcoholics, which I was).
But in order to get things done and help as many people as I can, I am embracing the concept of consistent B- work vs. rare or non-existent A+ work. AKA getting nothing done at all.
Mind you, I was shocked at the concept of B-. Until it was fully explained to me by a full-fledged expert.
B- work can literally be life-changing (for you and for those you are trying to help). A+ work will only bog you down in details and never help anyone, or for sure not nearly as many people.
B- work can still change lives even with its little typos and grammar errors.
The pressure you build in your mind around being perfect will prevent you from accomplishing and sharing all you have to give. Waiting for the perfect time, the perfect strategy or the perfect words to come will mean waiting forever and missing many opportunities in the meantime.
You will produce more and change more lives operating at a B- level than at an A+.
And…no one cares (except the grammar police, hand raised ✋🏼, and even they will still read and use your stuff).
Granted, I am by no means encouraging typos. I still say and will always say that your online presence is most often your biggest and best opportunity to make a first impression and this stuff counts (your graphics, fonts, colors etc. are also important—stay tuned for more info on that).
Working under the pressure of perfection will cause mass paralysis in your business. The negative emotion that comes with the desire for perfection will make producing anything much harder.
Focus on who you are serving and whether or not it will benefit them. With or without typos.
And no, this email is not, by any means, perfect. But it IS heartfelt and hopeful that you too will try to embrace B-.