Perfectionism Kills Success

Perfectionism Kills Success?! Why?

If you are a perfectionist and just get things done and out there, then this article is not for you. Congratulations and I would love to hear from you!

But if you are one of those perfectionists that never thinks it’s good enough (your product/service/idea/creation), never thinks it’s ready to go out to the public eye, there is always something that needs improving, that needs to be better, then read on.

What’s the problem here? What’s wrong with wanting to get it perfect before publishing/putting it on the market/letting the world see?

Chances are, it is never good enough (by our own opinion), and it is never the right time, and

… it never gets to see the light of day!

Isn’t that a frightening thought? Wouldn’t that be a big big shame? Somebody once said: “I don’t want to die with my music still in me.” and then they just dared to do what they always wanted to do.

Did you ever wonder about some product or service or piece of art ‘how the hell did that get so successful? It’s cr**!” And secretly you were also a bit jealous … why he/she and not me?

Well, why them and not you?

Because they DID it! They had an idea and put it out there!

It might not have been perfect but there were enough people out there to like their creation that they were richly rewarded.

Do you ever think "Who am I to be brilliant and successful? Well, who are you not to be?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

I love this little girl, the wonder and excitement in her eyes … I’ll keep her and you’ll see a lot more of her on my pages. We need to be like children – open to the wonders of life!

Keep shining as you did when you were a child!

The sun shines on everyone, it doesn't make choices.

When it rains it rains on everyone … it doesn’t make choices.

“Am I good enough?”

Well, here is the thing: You are asking the wrong question!

Because only through doing what you want to be doing will you become the person capable of doing what you want to be doing!

Only through doing your job will you become the person capable of doing that job.

In his book The Law of the Winners, Bodo Schäfer lists 30 laws to success. I will give you the first three steps here now, and you can also read the whole first three chapters in the preview on Amazon (link below).

I am currently ‘working’ my way through his audio book, one chapter each morning, and I love it! Highly recommended. A little pep talk/focussing exercise before I start the day.

Bodo Schafer is a successful time-management trainer. Through his time spent as a financial guru, Schafer has come up with a set of thirty laws that, when followed, can drastically improve the quality of your life. These laws give you the tools you need to gain control of your life and attain the confidence you need to move forward with all the purpose and gusto of a true winner.

In this book, you will learn how to be happy, smart, and successful; the tools needed to achieve your dreams; the secret to having immeasurable confidence; and so much more! (source Amazon)

(Translation of the original title ‘Die Gesetze der Gewinner’)
© Copyright by The Rights Company B.V., The Netherlands

So what are the first three laws of winners? And immediately actionable!

1. Make Decisions!

There is a great fear of making a wrong decision. It is the dread of leaving the known and ‘safe’ ground for something unknown. This step, however, signifies the chance to grow. This is where each person has his greatest opportunity.

2. As soon as possible!

Tasks burden us until they are accomplished. When you shirk from doing the unpleasant ones, then exactly what you want to avoid happening will occur: The tasks will begin to torture and oppress you.

A secret of winners is that they make the important things in life incredibly urgent. They accomplish everything a.s.a.p.

3. Focus on your IPA’s

Would you like to earn more money? If so, you must increase your value in the market. The best way to do this is to concentrate on the IPA’s (Income-Producing Activities). Pareto had already discovered that 80 percent of our earnings arises from 20 percent of our activities. That means that we waste 80 percent of our time or else we use it in a less than optimal manner.

What is the magic 20 percent in your job that gives rise to 80 percent of all of the results?

On the whole, you will determine that winners do not do the extremely difficult tasks well; rather, they do the simple tasks extremely well. Most importantly, they do them!

(These are excerpts from Bodo Schafer’s book, you can read the complete chapters by following the link above.)

Next Steps

Why not check out the book and do the practice? 10 to 15 minutes each morning to set you up as a winner!

Thank you for reading this far! Stay with me, over the next three days we’ll go through the first three winning principles together! Please subscribe below so you don’t miss a beat.

This might not be an amazing or a ‘perfect’ article but it’s a start and I hope you learned something and got some new tools. I followed the law of “non-perfection” here (I just made that one up) and just did it (finally). 🙂

Please leave your comments below.