The Myth of Perfection

People who want things to be perfect often find themselves stuck in a rut.

It’s not intuitive, but in most cases, perfection is a myth. The “perfect wedding dress”, or “only car I’ll ever need,” doesn’t exist.

Perfection is overrated, and in many cases, it really is an outright fantasy. If our search for the one perfect answer leads to an inability to make any decision, that’s about as imperfect as it gets.

The semi-technical name for this rut is “analysis paralysis.” The non-technical name is “lost in the weeds.”

People are good at getting lost. Clarity is therefore both functional and marketable.

Angel investor and Venture Capitalist Howard Lindzon told the Fintech Insider podcast that the most important skill one can possess is to narrow something down into two positive options and then make a choice.

Note that he distinguished between the narrowing and reducing to two positive choices from a sea of options before he gets to the actual choice part.

Howard reminds me of a Seth Godin quote that, “We don’t make stuff as much as we make decisions.”

That stuff may not be perfect, but if it’s functional and marketable, we have a business.