This is a re-print of a favorite email of mine that’s all about perfectionism.
If you have trouble with procrastination, or you’re always scared to make mistakes – this will probably hit home with you.
Enjoy…
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I’ve struggled for a long time with trying to be perfect…
Most of this stems from my childhood and how my mom raised me.
She was the ultimate perfectionist.
Growing up I was never allowed to make a mistake.
I was never allowed to be wrong.
I grew up walking on eggshells, afraid that if I did something wrong, I’d come under my mom’s wrath.
Not exactly the most fun environment…
And as a kid my way of coping with that, was to try and be perfect.
I thought if I just never made a mistake…
Or if I was never wrong…
Then I’d finally be good enough for her.
It’s pretty sad scenario when you think about it.
Making a little kid feel like that…
It sucks.
And I was obviously never able to be perfect.
Because that’s impossible.
But here’s the thing…
That strive to be perfect is still inside me.
And it flares up from time to time in my business.
For example…
Just this week I was talking to my coach, Brent, and I mentioned that I was struggling with the content for a new product I’m putting out.
Basically most of the videos for the product I’ve already filmed.
Because I taught those topics in my coaching program.
But instead of simply using those videos for the course, I felt like I had to record totally new videos.
“That’s you trying to be perfect about the content of your course” Brent said.
“Fuck” I thought to myself.
He’s right.
The reality is that no one is going to care if I use videos that I already taught.
And furthermore, the videos I already recorded will probably be better since there are live questions from the people in the coaching program in those videos.
So they’ll probably answer a lot of the questions people who buy the course have…
So there’s really no need to record new stuff.
But on a gut level, I feel like I need to…
Because I don’t want to use stuff people have already seen.
This is me trying to be perfect.
This kind of thing happens all the time if you’re a perfectionist.
Being a perfectionist, can be a blessing in many ways…
It does help some people to be wildly successful.
But it can also seriously hurt you.
It’s why people “think about starting a business” for years and never do it.
It’s why copywriters spend days and days writing a single email.
It’s why you demand perfection from your employees (and why they can never live up to your standards)
It all goes back to perfectionism.
And perfectionism doesn’t just pop up.
It’s not something that starts when you’re 45.
It all stems from your childhood.
And how you were raised.
You might not be fully aware of it (I wasn’t).
But perfectionism affects every area of your life.
I’m 36 years old now, and I still battle it.
So if you struggle with perfectionism…
Just know that you’re not alone.
I’m right there in the mud with ya.
And the big thing to remember is that being “perfect” is not possible.
It doesn’t exist.
You’re never going to write the perfect email…
Or put out the perfect offer…
Striving for that will just leave you disappointed.
So if I could give you one piece of advice when it comes to perfectionism, it’s to simply be more realistic.
More realistic about your results…
More realistic about your team around you…
More realistic about your time line to launch an offer.
That’s what smart business people do.
They’re realistic.
Keep that in mind.
– Justin
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