I have a notebook on my shelf. It’s black, leather-bound, and expensive.
If you open it, you will see plans for the businesses, a YouTube channel and X. The pages are filled with detailed diagrams, color-coded strategies, and endless “Pre-Launch Checklists.”
Do you know how many of those projects I actually launched?
ZERO.
For years, I told myself (and anyone who would listen) that I was a “Perfectionist.” I wore it like a badge of honor. I would say things like, “I just care too much about quality to release something half-baked.”
It sounded noble. It sounded professional.
But eventually, I woke up to the reality: Perfectionism wasn’t my standard. It was my shield.
The “Quality” Trap
We tell ourselves we are waiting until it’s perfect because we want to do a good job.
But the truth is, we are waiting because we are terrified of judgment. We think that if we make it “perfect,” nobody can criticize us. If we account for every variable, we can’t fail.
So we research. We plan. We edit. And we edit again. We stay in the “safe mode” of preparation, where no one can see us and no one can hurt us.
Perfectionism is just procrastination with a fancy degree.
The Pottery Parable (The Math of Quality)
There is a famous story from the book Art & Fear that completely rewired my brain.
A ceramics teacher split his class into two groups.
- Group A (The Quantity Group): They would be graded solely on the weight of the pots they produced. 50lbs of pots = A. 40lbs = B. They just had to make stuff.
- Group B (The Quality Group): They only had to make one pot, but it had to be perfect to get an A.
At the end of the semester, a strange fact emerged: The highest quality pots were all produced by the Quantity Group.
Why?
Because while the “Quality Group” sat around theorizing about the perfect curvature and clay density, the “Quantity Group” was getting their hands dirty. They made 50 ugly pots. They made mistakes. They learned. And by the 50th pot, they were masters.
I was stuck in Group B. I was trying to make my first pot perfect, so I never made it at all.
The 70% Rule
Once I realized that Quantity leads to Quality, I stopped trying to be perfect. I adopted the 70% Rule.
The rule is simple: Once a project is 70% good, I ship it.
- Is this article perfect? No. There is probably a typo somewhere. The phrasing could be more poetic.
- Does it matter? No. Because hitting “Publish” on a 70% article is infinitely more valuable than deleting a 100% perfect article that sits in my drafts folder.
Reality doesn’t reward perfection. Reality rewards speed and iteration.
You cannot steer a parked car. You have to start moving even if you are moving clumsily, before you can adjust your course.
The Ego Check
Here is the harshest reality of all: Nobody cares as much as you do.
Perfectionism is rooted in ego. We think the world is watching us with a magnifying glass, waiting for us to slip up.
The reality? People are busy. They are thinking about their own problems.
- If you launch a business and the logo is ugly, nobody cares.
- If you go to the gym and lift with bad form, nobody is watching.
- If you post a blog and it’s average, nobody will remember.
This shouldn’t be depressing; it should be liberating. The stakes are lower than you think.
Stop Polishing the Brick
If you are waiting for the perfect time, the perfect camera, the perfect economy, or the perfect mood… you will die waiting.
The notebook on my shelf is a graveyard of “perfect” ideas that never breathed air. Don’t let your life become a graveyard.
Make something ugly. Start before you are ready.
Be a realist: A messy success is better than a perfect fantasy.
The Challenge:
What is one thing you have been “planning” for more than 6 months?
Do the “ugly version” of it today. Ship it. Then tell me how it felt.