Perfectionism is holding you back

Perfectionism is holding you back:

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Perfectionism is holding you back.

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No one is perfect so stop pretending to be.

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You don’t need to be perfect to start.

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You need to start.

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Even if it sucks.

I’ll guarantee you it will suck.

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That’s ok.

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The point is to go.

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It’s to not be afraid of what’s to come, put effort into your craft and keep pushing.

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People will take notice, even ones you’ve never met.

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Went to a work event last week where I was talking to some friends at other investment firms when this girl came up.

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She’s one of the analysts at another firm and was one of the organizers of the event.

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She knew someone I was talking to so introduced myself.

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First thing she said to me, ‘Wait, are you the daily blogger?’

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I was like ‘Hm I have a blog but it’s not daily so I don’t think it’s me.’

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Then she said ‘Really? Because I saw this guy had recently written a lot of blog posts as a way to challenge himself and I’m super impressed with how he’s been able to do it.’

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‘Oh yea that’s me. Thanks! Do you have any feedback?’

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‘Nah just well done.’

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Someone who I had never met before noticed me for something I shared online.

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It was cool.

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What I appreciated is that she was impressed with the commitment to writing, even if it sucked.

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Here’s the secret - most of your work will suck.

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Any time you do anything creative, you don’t know what will happen.

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You don’t know where it’ll go.

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You don’t know who it’ll touch.

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You don’t know who will see it.

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You have no control over any of those things.

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But you do have control over effort.

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You have control over committing to your craft.

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Constantly improving.

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Constantly pushing the envelope of what you believe.

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Working again and again, even when it’s hard.

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Even when you don’t like what you do.

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Even when your self-doubt is running rampant.

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Even when your mind is telling you you’re a failure.

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You have to persist.

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You have to keep it going.

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Share your gift with the world, even if people don’t want to see it.

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You have a duty to yourself and society to share what you love.

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A lot of people will hate it and that’s ok.

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Don’t mind them.

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Don’t let their false beliefs about your work hold you back from pursuing your dreams.

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But the road to your dreams is hard.

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It’s fucking brutal.

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It’s filled with tons of failure, heartbreak, and death.

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That’s part of it.

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But you have to keep showing up.

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Conquer your muse as per Stephen Pressfield in ‘War of Art’

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Conquer your resistance.

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The amateur makes excuses, the professional goes to work.

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He/she knows most of the stuff they do will suck, but they continue to show up.

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Here’s the secret to solving perfectionism - start.

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It won’t be perfect.

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Nothing ever is.

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But you’re holding yourself back.

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Never forget this - the only person stopping you from accomplishing your goals is yourself.

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No one else.

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So fuck the idea of perfectionism.

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Stop overthinking.

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Get to work and let everything else go.

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