“You don’t have to get it right. You just have to get it going.” — Mike Litman
The quote above has to be the most important idea for many a business person. It’s the antidote to the dread perfectionist disease that paralyzes you.
Perfectionism is born of a perfectly reasonable impulse: to produce a quality product.
But it is the “impossible standard” aspect of it that makes it dysfunctional. It is the kind of impulse that makes a parent say “No one’s good enough for my Billy” (or Susie). And because getting it perfect is nearly impossible, making public your effort is well nigh impossible.
One of Dan Kennedy’s lessons is that half of winning is just showing up! So he and Litman are on the same page.
To have a newsletter and not write to your subscribers is to not show up!
What are the problems with not showing up?
– No one remembers you. Harsh but true. Oh, you may be a memory in passing, but people have their own lives. You are a blip on most people’s screens. The only way to become a bigger blip is to show up.
– You miss opportunities to announce and to sell. Does this really need any elaboration? Didn’t think so. 🙂
– You miss opportunities to BUILD on previous opportunities, and so forth.
– You miss chances to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field.
Besides the inverse of the above, what ADVANTAGES arise from just showing up and communicating to your list?
– You become more comfortable in communicating.
– You build momentum, so that coming up with ideas to communicate is easier.
– You have opportunities to answer the question, “What have you done for me lately.”
– You have a store of information which you can archive and then refer your subscribers. For example, you can write, “As I mentioned two weeks ago (url), you can enhance your writing ability by…” And on the archive page, you can advertise. 🙂
Yes, the tragedies of not showing up are tremendous. Perfectionism can literally KILL your business!
And the benefits of “just showing up” are equally huge.
Moreover, they can cascade and reinforce each other.
So how can you move yourself to “just show up?”
1 – Use Litman’s comment at the top of this article to remind yourself that perfectionism is NOT a good pole star.
2 – Write short pieces. You don’t have to write Moby Dick. Short pieces that deliver real information that they can use is what people mainly want.
3 – Give yourself a schedule. And stick to it.
4 – Ask for feedback on what you write. You may find that people like it, even though it’s not “perfect.” And if they criticize, you’ll have information on how to improve.
Do these things and perfectionism will be a thing of the past, for you will more consistently show up.
Perfectionism & What You Can Do About It
