TLDR:
- A lot of us think that getting it done will backfire horribly. But it doesn’t. Just listen to this clip of Ali Abdaal; prolific is better than perfect, for quantity is more important than quality initially.
- It can also be extended to what Ali Terai says: just get version 1.0 out and receive feedback so you could go back and make it easier to fine-tune.
- Following this leads to one of two outcomes: the initial response is positive, so you continue to work on publishing the final version, or you realize it won’t work as well as you thought it would, so you can expend that time and energy on some other idea you have in mind instead, and see how that goes.
- Don’t overthink. Just like the icon of this article, you want your graph to gradually grow exponentially, not be a horizontal line.
The perils of the perfectionist fixation
When one first begins their entrepreneurial journey, it is often the case that they want everything to be perfect right from the get-go. Every possible aspect you could think of must be flawless.
But it’s the most flawless red flag you could think of to filter the bad eggs from the good ones, without even cracking its shell.
In the minds of most people, just getting it done is the worst thing you could do.
But it isn’t.
As Ali Abdaal puts it in his “How I Write” appearance last week, prolific is better than perfect. To get good at something, you have to put in the reps, as that leads to quality, akin to being capable of lifting heavier weights at the gym gradually, for quantity is more important than quality initially. This is something he also mentions he teaches in his Part-Time YouTuber Academy course.
This principle can also serve as an extension of what Ali Terai says in “The Creative Act” episode of the Vinh & Ali Show: just get version 1.0 out, cutting straight to the chase.
This way, you can receive feedback that can help you pave the path to take forward after fine-tuning previous steps of the creative seed, leading to one of two outcomes:
- Your initial response is positive, deeming it worthy to improve on and release further iterations of the final product.
- It’s a failure, not going as planned. However, you saved the time and energy you would’ve expended in releasing what would just be the final product.
The point is to not overthink: it’s one of the biggest perils of the perfectionist. You won’t get anywhere if that’s your square one. Even if it’s just the bare minimum or straight up horrible, it’s better than not doing it at all.
Just like the icon of this article, you want your graph to gradually grow exponentially, not a horizontal line.