Better Than Perfect
How can you be BETTER than perfect?!
You know where I’m going with this. You saw the headline, and you already. know. So let’s not beat around the bush.
Done is better than perfect. Always has been.
So many times in my life, I’ve found myself bogged down in the pursuit of perfection or some fleeting passion around creative projects that I lose sight of what is truly important: it has to get done. An unshared work only benefits me.
Couple this perfectionist pursuit with a tendency to jump from project to project as I fancy the new shiny objects in my life, and I’m fretfully aware that I have little to show for these endeavors.
Caveats Abound
I know I wrote recently about how even failures and false starts can be beneficial, but the flip-side to that coin is that: things NEED to get done. My entire catalogue of work cannot be rubbish heap of failures or fizzled launches. So I have had to jump between two minds: the mind that failure is good and conducive to growth towards a better end-product AND that some things do need to see the light of day to know if and when I’m on to something.
Don’t be Obtuse, Bruce
Now, don’t you go telling me — “Oh, so you like just churning out garbage, and you don’t care if the stuff you post is crap, eh?!”
Listen here, Obtuse Bruce1. No, I don’t think I should just post every little crappy thing and hope for the best. I have care for the craft. But, to be honest, I think most artists and creatives struggle with the other side— where we are sculpting the most beautiful statue behind closed doors and just never show it to anyone.
Let your weird babies2 run free. Let people see what you are cooking up. Get things done, and don’t let your insanely high standards keep them from seeing the light of day.
Done is better than perfect. That is it. Make stuff. Show people. Get feedback. Make more stuff. Look, I could keep going on and on and on and on and create a paid course out of it, but - who would that be helping3?
You’re welcome for the silly math joke. Also, english is weird that this word has 2 VERY different meanings… which is also the worst thing ever.
Not literal babies. They shouldn’t be going anywhere without the direct supervision of an adult.
Me. It would be helping me. Give me money.