The very first version of anything will never look smart enough. If you wait until the stars align and everything is just right because you want perfection, you may never start anything.
You are where you are today because you moved yesterday, and your tomorrow depends on what you do or do not do today.
Perfection isn’t a final point on the map; it’s an ongoing process that evolves as you grow and learn.
Nobody starts perfect. That’s why we always have new versions of things, from cars, applications, products, books, etc. It shows that ‘perfect’ is not a location or a destination; it’s a process.
When you understand that perfection is a process, not a location or destination, your attitude towards progress changes dramatically.
You begin to take steps, no matter what. You start with a rough draft and work your way towards something better, with tiny improvements here and there, and it keeps getting better and better.
“Perfectionism is just fear wearing a disguise”, so you have a beautiful excuse not to start because you feel what you’ve now is not good enough to be revealed, so you keep waiting or you keep chiselling, hitting, beating, waiting for it to come out perfect.
But what you don’t know is that even if you manage to create something ‘perfect’, it simply means that thing doesn’t need to have anything added or subtracted from it ever again, which is practically impossible!
So, whatever we create will never reach perfection. We’re all on a journey that never really ends because there’s always something new to add, or something to subtract!
Just Make It Work
If it works today, then it may have a promising future. As long as it works and does the job at least to some extent, it has the potential to improve over time.
Herein lies the reason why many people have not been able to move from that spot.
They have been there for many years, just waiting for the right moment.
They keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the right moment that never comes; they don’t realise every time is the right moment when it comes to progress.
This is how great leaders think.
They understand that perfection is not a destination or a location on the map, but a journey, so they don’t wait until they become perfect to go out and do something, regardless of experience, exposure, connections, or resources.
As long as you are open and very willing to learn, attend to your mistakes and grow, the latter version of you will always be much better than the former.
Keep Iterating
Just keep doing it! Don’t stop. This is the secret of great products and great leadership; it’s all about making small changes, sometimes inconspicuous ones that may not seem visible but contribute to the great picture.
If you ever come to a point where you feel there’s nothing else to add or subtract, it doesn’t mean it’s perfect; it just means you’re satisfied with what you have.
A great painting is not perfect; it’s just satisfaction in the eyes of the creator, because there will be many more things to add if others were to cast their eyes on that same painting.
Perfect Leadership?
There’s nothing like perfect leadership anywhere; what we have is leadership that understands the importance of the process. They know that perfection is not the goal, they are not looking at a distant location and running towards it, no, they are looking at the now and doing all that they can to grow and become better every day!
“We freeze chasing perfection, forgetting that it’s forged through repetition.”
Don’t ever get tired of growth. Ever. The day you stop growing, you naturally start dying. Nature teaches us this lesson in many ways. A system that stops moving is simply dead. It’s the movement and activity that indicate life.
“Ugly action beats unfinished perfection.”
What have you been waiting for the perfect time to do or start?
Motion is life. Start living now, start moving.
You’re not making any progress just standing and waiting for the perfect time.
Begin with what you have now—make it work—and refine it over time. Waiting for perfect conditions only delays progress.
I learned this principle early, very early.
And it has helped me so far in everything I do in life.
I never wait for the perfect time to start. Once I have the most basic requirements and resources, I immediately step out and keep making changes and improvements as I go.
It has helped me a lot, and I know it will help you too.
This week, look for those things in your life that you’ve placed on hold because you were waiting for the perfect time. Go back to them and start moving with them.
You can’t figure out everything from the beginning. As you start the journey, you begin to learn a lot that you would never learn if you were standing in one spot waiting for the right time.
