There’s an interesting dynamic that comes up with folks new to, or doing something new, in their business. The dynamic: you want the new thing to work, because, well, you want your business to work. So you move into action.
When you are about to actually do something, the worry that it won’t work out and you won’t make the money you need has you fretting. Quite normal. Totally natural. Don’t judge yourself.
Unfortunately, what happens next is that the fretting turns into an endless tweaking before you actually carry out what your tweaking. As tweaking becomes endless tweaking, the first of the month gets closer… and your panic increases. Deer-in-headlights-syndrome sets in.
After lots of tweaking and not much accomplishing, you pull out your credit card, or whatever you do to squeak through another month.
That’s my story, although thankfully Heart of Business is past the years where I needed to pull strings in order to make it month-to-month. We’re moving toward launching our next course later this month, and we’re trying some new things. I’m nervous. Is it going to work? Am I doing it right? Am I betraying myself? After checking my heart, I know I’m not betraying myself.
Here’s what I want to tell both me and you. I’ve read this story before at least a 1000 times, and I’m betting you have, too. It still needs to sink in.
Business unfolds in iterations. You do something. It works maybe 20 percent as well as you’d like. You look at it, you try it again. It works 45 percent as well as you’d like. You look at it, you try it again, it works 70 percent as well as you’d like. Maybe that’s good enough. Seventy percent.
On to the next thing, until you have a hatfull of things functioning at 70% and you’re making a living. Then whew… you catch your breath. At this point you can really turn up the juice and get things going.
Yes, just a hat’s worth of things. A good list of responsive people, decent content that connects, a solid offer that your people want and need. They don’t have to be super-duper amazing. Just 70 percent effective.
Attitude is important. Spiritual alignment is important. Learning and understanding how others have been successful with various business-y things is incredibly helpful.
Our blog and Business Heart Toolkit are full of no-cost help on how to move your business forward. There are plenty of other people who also have incredible resources on moving your business forward. Molly, Charlie, Dave, Elizabeth, Naomi, Bill, Pam, Hiro, Andrea, and Suzanne, among many others, know what to do.
Bottom line? Take a step. Make a ton of mistakes. Mess up. Do it badly.
That Is So Uninspiring
We all have different approaches to this problem. Kate Williams, my compatriot here at Heart of Business, has a real love of quality. She told me when she read the first draft of this article, that it left her uninspired, somewhat deflated.
Let me be clear: 70 percent and “doing it badly” is not (necessarily) about sacrificing quality. Kate puts it this way, “I strive to do the best I can and take care of myself.”
The emphasis I want to bring is not to poor quality. When you are doing work that matters, of course you want to do it well. Your heart won’t let you do it badly.
The real emphasis is on the iterative process. When you do something for the third or tenth time, it has the opportunity to evolve, to become sharper, crisper, juicier, more effective.
If you aim for version 10.0 on the first try, you won’t do quality work, you won’t finish, and you won’t take care of yourself. When striving to do the truly impossible, that’s what happens.
Version 1.0 is Today
Don’t decide that the universe has given you the message that you’re doing the wrong thing simply because you’re getting version 1.0 results. Keep going. If you bounce around, you don’t get anywhere – you just start 1000 journeys.
I know. You’re wishing, as I have, that there was a magic formula, that someone could tell you to just do it this way and it will automatically be amazing and done. There are lots of folks who will promise you that, but the promises aren’t true.
Whatever you learn from someone else has to alchemically mix in the magic of your own heart and being and come out as your special sauce.
For the next few weeks, what is the 70 percent, the version 1.0 you’re aiming for?
p.s. Need practical help building your business from the heart?
I want to highlight our newest practitioner, Jason Stein. He’s an outstanding coach, who has this mysterious habit of helping people make money. He has a very deep commitment to spiritual practice and parenting. He’s an expert communicator, and his super-power is helping people ask for and receive help in their business.
If you’re ready to get your business moving and you’d like someone to roll up their sleeves and work with you, may I recommend checking out Jason? Read about our Organic Business Development Program, and schedule a time to speak with him.
20 Responses
Wow, this is just the proverbial “kick in the butt” that I needed 😉 Sound advice, thanks!
I like the notion of 70% .. it’s less than 80! 😉
Yes, the tweaking thing … action trumps tweaking … and 100% may never arrive.
Thx, LL
.-= Lyle T. Lachmuth – The Unsticking Coach’s lastest post: It
Wonderful post, my brother-teacher.
I’d like to talk about that remaining 30%, if I may. So many people get to that point and know that they can do better if they just try harder.
Here’s the deal, though: as holistic people, we have to determine if “pushing through” that last 30% is really worth it. Is it worth the 20 additional hours per month that comes from yourself and your family? Is it worth the extra “squeeze” you try to put on your audience? Is it worth all the other goodness and ideas that you’re not attending to because you’re try to get the most possible whatever you’re trying to get?
While it’s impossible to say this for every case, it’s usually far better to get it to good enough – ~70-85 % – and let the rest go. Most of the time, the little bit of extra juice isn’t worth the large amount of squeezing you’ve got to do to get it.
Thanks for helping us remember this, Mark.
.-= Charlie Gilkey’s lastest post: 4 Questions To Ask Yourself Every Day =-.
My perfectionism dragon is so soothed when I’m reminded to “mess up & do it badly.” And so it is with my version 1.0’s as well. A post like this reminds me again; it’s not only ok to be human and do things in iteratively, it’s necessary.
We all start somewhere! The magic is really in the starting.
Thanks Mark!
.-= Mynde’s lastest post: 3 Beginning Blogging Mistakes To Avoid =-.
Thanks so much Mark, for writing the best ever thing for me to hear today. In Love, Kathleen
Hi Mark,
Excellent. Perfectionist syndrome is rampant out there. It’s learned behavior from childhood. Testing kids all the time does not help them grow up to be folks who “let go enough to just go for it.”
I’m a messy person who tosses things all over the place. Down side: people tell you you’re a slob. Up side: I don’t need to keep getting ready and keep getting ready and keep getting ready. I just do it and worry about refining it after the first go round. Nothing wrong with messy!
Perfect doesn’t even exist. That’s the real irony.
Much thanks! Giulietta
.-= Giulietta the Muse’s lastest post: Do you dare to get out of lock-step? =-.
Hey Mark –
you been reading my mind or somethin’? 🙂
Thank you two-fold!
1. I know we’re running our own lives & businesses, but it’s nice to get outside permission sometimes.
2. It’s encouraging to hear version 1.0 is good enough to start with. At the end of the day what’s keeping me from making my e-course on self awareness available as it is, is my scared wee heart saying it should be perfect (or else “they” will never come back to me again).
Have a good one!
xx
.-= Dee’s lastest post: 15 Tips on How to Maintain Balance =-.
This hit me square on today. Perfect for where I’m at, what I needed to hear. Thank you so much for writing this.
I’m a recovering perfectionist who often finds my “good enough” bar sitting higher than where many people settle. I understand the iterative concept but still struggle, at times, to decide when something is truly
Hi Mark!!
Yes, thank you.
Seth Godin’s echos what you’ve said in his latest book, “Linchpin.”
He says that, in these times, we don’t have a crisis of confidence, liquidity, debt, quality, or service. We have a crisis of “shipping.” Or, as you say, putting our good work out there even if it lacks the features, functions, and benefits it will have at version ten-dot-oh.
Cheers!
Michael
I can always count on you for quality content Mark. (That’s why I open every email you send me…)
Thanks!
Josh
.-= Josh Dunn’s lastest post: The Epiphany
Perfect timing for me as well, Mark.
I have this project that is just sitting there because I’m sure it’s not going to be good enough (I know it’s not 100%). But, you know, it *is* pretty damn close to the 70%.
And, there can always be a version 2.0.
Awesome. (and thanks).
.-= Larisa’s lastest post: Things Aren
Hi Mark!
Here’s to being what I like to call “perfectly imperfect.” : ) I really appreciated this article, as it feels quite timely for me.
As I get uber-close to launching my very-first-ever-oh-my-God website, I must say that my inner Virgo perfectionist has been struggling to let go of the fact that this whole website thing-ey may not emerge fully polished the way that Jesus was born via the Immaculate Conception.
And maybe that’s OKAY… because anything good that I can possibly think of has had to be born, and then grow, and then LIVE. It’s in the LIVING that a thing becomes polished, that it acquires a patina and develops its own perfection.
So, here’s to perfect imperfection, and to 70… errr… 71 (’cause I am a Virgo, after all) percent! : )
Mark
@Alexandra- Glad to be kicking butt. 🙂
@Lyle- It is less than 80- I noticed that straight off, too. 🙂
@Charlie- Perfecto additiono, Mr. Agile. Thank you so much for dropping this one in.
@Mynde- Way to conquer the dragon! The magic is in the starting…
@Kathleen- The best thing ever for today- I’ll take that. Glad I could help.
@Giulietta- viva la mess!
@Dee- As matter of fact, I have been reading your mind. I’m glad to hear that version 1.0 of your course is about to launch. 🙂
@Heidi- You’re like the second or third person to say something like that- I didn’t mean for it to come out so violent… You’re welcome
@Mike- It’s a good point- self care is part of “good enough.” If good enough gets your car door smashed in, perhaps its okay to get a little better than that.
It’s just good to have some outside perspective, so we don’t get too unrealistic with the fear thing.
And I hear ya on the price…
@Michael! Hey there, mister- great to hear from you. And yes- the Seth said it really well in that book.
@Josh- thank you… that really touches me. I’m glad we’re keeping it up.
@Larisa- Pretty cool there- time to launch, even at 68%. 🙂
I recently created my first ever video blog. Recorded it the first time, thought it was mostly good but a few bits weren’t great… so did it again. Same thing happened… so did it again. On the 4th try, I realized that was going to happen EVERY time. Every take I’d be 70% or so happy with – so I might as well stop with the 4th go rather than the 40th go! – and retain some enjoyment of the process!
And the end result has proved pretty popular (see below) and I maintained my energy enough to be excited about doing it again another time.
So thanks for the synchronicity (as ever!)
Corrina
.-= Corrina Gordon-Barnes’s lastest post: No Bad Parts: How To Handle Criticism & Other Attacks =-.
Corrina- you’re shaming me! I need to need to need to finally finally finally get going with video…
I’m so jazzed for you! And it’s great to hear your voice and see your face in motion- thanks for stepping out- what a great start to the video thing.
You rock.
Ah shucks. Thanks!
I made it as super-simple as possible: used the Mac webcam then uploaded it to YouTube and got the HTML code to embed onto my blogsite. It couldn’t be easier. If you want fancy quality and sound effects and yada yada then you can take ages, but that I did what you see without any preparation or any notes, in a morning.
So do it! I want to see you! 🙂
With gratitude, as ever
(and with excitement as I prepare to leap on to the Organic Business Development Program…!)
Corrina
.-= Corrina Gordon-Barnes’s lastest post: No Bad Parts: How To Handle Criticism & Other Attacks =-.
Mark,
This is exactly what happens in food production/restaurants. Even after 8 years, my crew and I still tweak and talk about our recipe every day. And I must confess that the crackers are getting pretty close to 95% these days!
Same thing with recording music. I can spend days on a single phrase or line, just playing it over and over again until I get the ker-chunk and then I know it’s good enough to call done.
Thanks for yet another inspiring post 😉
Hi guys, me again –
so… the 1.0 version of the e-course mentioned above is available for sign-up here: http://www.buildingthelifeyouwant.com/mbti.html
If any one of you guys gave me some feedback, I’d really very much appreciate it! 🙂
Thank you! xx
.-= Dee’s lastest post: Only 9 % of Expat Spouses are employed during their assignment =-.
Thanks Mark, no 70%, this post is perfect! At least for me, today.