Do You Dare to Make Mistakes?

by Joan Friedlander

Perfection, defined: the state of being without a flaw or defect
Perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfection)

It's hard to take the risks you need to take to grow your business - and live a full life - if you're paralyzed by the need to have everything just so before you take action. If you hesitate too long, you'll miss opportunities. Perhaps more importantly, you'll miss out on the joy of winning when you weren't sure you would.

The second most common reason people tell me they don't hire help is because "it's hard to find good people," and therefore, "it's just easier to do it myself." Well, that makes sense. If your standards of performance are paralyzing you, why would you trust anyone else?

I've witnessed the fear that grips those who might be perfectionists when it's time to go out and try something new. If you hesitate to act until you're sure something is "perfect" you might say something like this, quietly, to yourself: "I can't do _______________ before _____________ is just right."

I can understand this. There's no question that it's wise to prepare and assess before acting. The difficulty comes when you put things off for weeks and months because all the ducks aren't fully lined up as you think they should be. Not only that, you can't fully assess these things unless you act.

• You won't know exactly whom you serve before you start serving them.

• You won't fully understand your customers' needs before work with them.

• You won't know if the marketing methods you chose will work until you've tried them, not just once but over and over again.

• You won't know if the person you hired is the right person until you hire him or her.

• You won't know if the new system you installed is working until you start using it. (That's why software companies put out beta versions.)

Of course, if you wanted the security of getting paid, even when you make mistakes, you would have stayed employed rather than heading out on your own.

Business experts will tell you that "failing" is part of the game. Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) failed at his first business. Albert Einstein failed 10,000 times before he figured out the light bulb. If we can appreciate their failures, why can't we appreciate ours? Perhaps it has to do with 2 of the 6 basic human fears.*

• Fear of poverty

• Fear of criticism

Publicly failing is really hard, and that's what most of us are afraid of. I know I am. (The moment I realize I've made a mistake that someone else might have seen, a warm flush of fear runs through my body.) It's also hard to accept the possibility of failure when you've got no time to fail because your survival is at stake. However, if you're not willing to risk it all to succeed, you probably will fail. How's that for a catch 22?

* After 25 years of study and conversations with thousands of people, Napoleon Hill distilled down all the fears we might name into 6 basic fears: fear of poverty, fear of ill health, fear of criticism, fear of loss of love of someone, fear of old age and fear of death.

Take Action Now!

Choose 1 thing you're not doing because you think you might fail, or you're not ready, or it's not perfect yet. It should be small enough that it's ok if you fail, but big enough that it increases your confidence if you win.Tell a friend: Forward this issue to anyone you know who stops before they start. Tell him or her what you're going to take this week's Dare to Challenge, and tell him or her when you have.

Inspiration Corner

If you were to talk to my former Administrative Partner, Angee Robertson, she'd laugh and tell you that I suffer from the very issues I describe in this issue. Every time I send out a newsletter I have a mini panic attack the moment I tell her it's ready to go out. Every time I head out to a speaking engagement, I wish I hadn't said I would. I would have preferred my website redesign was finished before I started the Dare to Thrive eNewsletter. So, I know about these things you face. The question I have for you: do you let them stop you?

 

by Joan Friedlander, © 2008. All rights reserved.