I have a confession to make: I’m a recovering perfectionist. And I use the term “recovering” loosely. Perfectionism is actually the biggest thing that holds me back from being my very best. It’s my scapegoat and I’ve grown fond of my friend Perfectionism.
Oh, you too? Good. I’m glad I’m not alone.
I am asked time and time again for the secret formula to a system that really works. You know the one: it runs on it’s own, saves you time and energy, and makes you more money. So, spoiler alert, I’m here to finally tell you the truth about successful systems.
They’re the ones that you use. And they’re usually imperfect.
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Yep. This is your official permission slip to send Perfectionism packing. Say bye bye to “But it’s not done yet!” and hello to “This works for now.”
Let me tell you a story (because you know I love stories):
When I first met Connie (name changed to protect the innocent), she was ready to launch a new service and she wanted to do a webinar to kick it off. Only problem was, Connie had never done a webinar in her life. She was an incredible graphic designer and wanted to share her talents with the world but she was held back by her good friend (frenemy?) Perfectionism.
“But, Val,” Connie said, “I have no clue how to do a webinar! Or what to do with the people who sign up to come to it. I’ve never done it before so I don’t even know where to begin.”
Sound familiar?
I knew that Connie had certainly done things she didn’t know how to do before. After all, she could walk and talk and use a computer and drive a car and design graphics. She wasn’t born doing any of those things but one day she started doing them even though she wasn’t perfect at them right away.
“Connie,” I said, “you just have to get started. Your first webinar is not going to be perfect. And that’s okay! And the first time you set one up it’s going to feel clunky. Eventually you’ll have a system nailed down for how you like to do webinars and it will be a breeze. But the only way to have it be successful eventually is to start now.”
And so Connie and I worked together to pull off her first webinar. We mapped out the systems and processes she would need in place to make it happen. We talked tools and journeys and goals. And we started.
The secret to successful systems is to start. To be consistent and improve them little by little.
And isn’t that the secret to the success of anything? Start small. Build it. Practice. Improve. Review. Start again.
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