STOP BEING A PERFECTIONIST!
I’m talking to myself… but I’m also talking to you if you are like me and have a hard time getting started on a new project or passion.
Today, I learned that a lot of people have this problem and don’t begin because they fear what they do will not turn out perfect. Today, that ends for me, and I hope this can encourage you to start starting (and do more).
Why today?
Because of the advice of a brand new hero of mine!
Not a fictional superhero like Batman, but an actual real living human hero!
His name is Seth Godin, and he is the reason I am writing this blog. In his conversation with my second newest hero, Stephan Spencer, (Marketing Speak podcast episode number 159) Seth says that he is a bigger fan of heroes as opposed to mentors because heroes are scalable, and mentors are not. What he goes on to explain was that mentors can only have a limited number of mentees at one time as opposed to heroes who can teach and inspire many more people.
Here is the #1 reason that Seth is my new hero: he recommends to write a blog every day to build a willingness to be wrong, to write mediocre sentences, and to have bad ideas because if you can’t do that then you can’t do anything.
Wow! That really resonated with me because I often have a hard time getting started, yet, I know the importance of failing and the lessons that can be learned by failing. It makes perfect sense just to do it and not worry about it being absolutely perfect or even accurate. We are only human; so, why have I always prevented starting for fear of it not being perfect? Well, those days are over, and now begins my journey of writing a blog every day.
Okay, enough about me and why I am writing this. Now it is time for me to drop a few golden nuggets and takeaways from the rest of this podcast conversation for you.
#2 Seth recommends not editing your writing until the end, if at all. Just write for the sake of improving.
#3 Seth made me aware of “the resistance” a term coined in the book titled The War of Art. Seth made me aware that the resistance is always going on in your head trying to prevent you from doing the things you want to do and to be creative. It is important to be aware of “the resistance” and to be conscientious that when it is trying to do it’s thing is when you need to do the thing you want to do most. You can’t ever make it go away, but instead you need to “dance with it”… you have to do the work, and you have to do it now.
#4 People only do things in their self-interest, even if that self-interest is the feeling of altruism.
#5 People don’t buy things for the product. Instead they buy things for the feeling that product/service provides. Seth’s example is that someone doesn’t buy a $12,000 leather handbag just because they like it. They buy the expensive leather handbag for the feeling of security it will provide them when they are hanging out with their wealthy friends.
I am now interested in deep-diving into Seth Godin’s writings, blogs, podcast, and if you are a marketer, I would encourage you to do the same or at least check out his podcast with Stephan Spencer on Marketing Speak.
I have listened to dozens of episodes of Marketing Speak over the past 2 weeks since I discovered it, and I could not recommend it more highly. Marketers, please do yourself a favor and listen to Marketing Speak now!
Thank you Stephan and Seth for the amazing insights and inspiration!
And thank you reader for reading this blog. It is my first blog, and it feels great to knock it out and put a notch in my belt.
P.S If you have marketing topics you would like for me to analyze for you, please ask me for that in the comments below.
KEY TAKEAWAY – the more you fail the more likely you are to succeed the next time… so please don’t be afraid of failure, but instead, embrace it.