Learning to Let Go of Perfection

I am a perfectionist—which, I’ve heard (more than once), is the enemy of progress. And that has absolutely proven true in my entrepreneurial journey. This week, Frank Levinson’s Top 10 Must-Haves for a Startup really showed me some areas where I have let perfectionism get in the way.

Some of the items on his list? I felt a little “hey, I’m not doing so bad!” about. I’ve got some decent common sense, my support system is rock-solid, and while I wouldn’t say I have the “pride of a fat baby” quite yet, I’m working on it.

Two of his points, however, really hit close to home: 

First: “Comfortable, cheap furniture.” His point was that how things look doesn’t matter—what matters is what you do. I realized how often I’ve let the idea of needing everything to be perfect hold me back. I’ve put off creating content because my phone is old and the camera isn’t great. I used to hate showing my face on camera before Invisalign because I was too distracted by my own crooked teeth. And I’ve definitely felt pressure to buy new clothes because, heaven forbid, I show up in multiple pieces of content having worn the same thing twice. None of those things actually help me serve people better, but they’ve slowed me down more than once.

The second point: “Too little money.” Levinson talks about how being lean forces creativity. Looking back, I can see times I jumped too soon into paying for systems or coaching I wasn’t ready for—trying to feel more “official” before I’d earned it. His reminder to build with what you have and focus on customer money really resonated.

This tied in well with the Honesty & Business Ethics reading. Authenticity and integrity matter more than appearances. I’m learning that building a business honestly—starting small and staying true to my values is actually a strength.

I’m looking forward to continuing to learn how to grow in a way that’s sustainable, genuine, and not driven by perfection.

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