Rejecting Perfection

It's been a bit quiet around here, but my mind has been full.  So full that it's been a little hard to pin down exactly what to think or what to do next.

I've been reading The Pursuit of Perfect lately and recognize the traits of a perfectionist in myself.  But in the realm of freelance writing and small business ownership, I have to let go of my idealistic ways in order to succeed... focus on learning, growing, the journey... reject the idea of perfection.

Perfection isn't possible and trying to achieve it will only make things worse.  Instead, I must learn to fail and face rejection, questions, uncertainty.  I can't reach my goals immediately, so I have to be patient, and perhaps along the way, I'll find a new path or idea that is even better than I imagined.

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To help me focus a bit, I recently met with Jess for a business consult.  (As one of the first five people to sign up for Chicago's Business with Intention workshop, I received a free consultation!)  The main topics on my mind had to do with structuring my workday and solidifying my main projects and services.

Talking through what I was doing and what I wanted to be doing made things more clear. And Jess's summary put our discussion into a "next steps" format.  Now, when I am overwhelmed with all the to-do items and ideas in my head, I have a concrete list of things to work on and (at some point) accomplish.

When I think about it, things are going well. I'm bringing in new clients, sending out pitches, researching potential story ideas, and making plans for upcoming projects.

I am still working to be patient.  I want to get everything done, get it done right, and get it done right now. But businesses are built with baby steps and time and hard work.

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If you want to see one of the "baby steps" I've been taking, check out my website.  I've added "my story" with an About Me page, as well as updated the home page and About MSCC services list.

Please know it's a work-in-progress.  I will likely make tweaks and changes tomorrow, next week, next month.  Someday, I plan to do a full redesign to turn it into a really fancy-schmancy site. 

For now, this step is about learning, growing, the journey.  It's about doing what I can where I am right now.  And that's what will get me to everything else that lies ahead.