When you are first learning or perfecting a skill, whether it be baking, archery, or public speaking, it is easy to get stuck in the cycle of analysis paralysis. You want to learn as much as you possibly can before you actually do the task, but you end up wasting time preparing yourself instead of just trying to do it.
Major League Baseball pitchers don’t throw a perfect game every time they play, so why do you expect to be perfect all the time?
Jonathan Fields recently wrote an excellent piece on how the key to getting better at something is to make more bad stuff.
That is a powerful message. In a world filled with perfectionists who don’t want to share what they’ve created with anyone unless they think it is perfect, the best way to get better is actually with hands-on practice. And the best way to practice is by trying over and over again until you stop failing miserably.
Jonathan uses the example of building a guitar, but wanting the first one to be perfect.
‘Go and make a really bad guitar.’ Stop waiting around, go buy a kit and do it. Today.
The first one… will be bad. Maybe really bad. But you’ll learn more making one bad guitar than you will waiting to do something and then taking a course that teaches you how to do it right. You’ll understand a lot more about the “why” behind good and bad building, and that’ll put you in a radically different position to do it better moving forward.
- Jonathan Fields
There Are No Shortcuts
When we asked whether or not there are shortcuts to becoming an expert, many of the responses revolved around a single theme:
The quickest path to expertise is to take direct action, get a lot of experience, and work your ass off.
There may be some mental or physical tricks that you can use to save a little bit of time, but major shortcuts just don’t exist to becoming an expert.
There’s a lot of emphasis on trying to accelerate the path to success by spending a ton of time studying the methods of those have succeeded before us in the hope that we’ll be able to avoid many of the mistakes they made.
- Jonathan Fields
There is no system to game, way to cheat, or 30 steps to success that you can use to become the best at something. Practice and focus are the key.
Yes, you should learn necessary things such as the safety procedures before you do something dangerous like rock climbing or strenuous like running a marathon, but just get out there. Go for a climb. Go for a run.
Learn from what you did, not what you read.
End the Analysis Paralysis
By spending too much time with your nose in a book, reading how-to articles online, or watching video tutorials you will hurt the speed of your learning by not putting yourself out there, trying to do great work, failing, and then getting better.
So, learn, what you can, but at the same time, get your head out of the classroom and start making more bad stuff.
- Jonathan Fields
Don’t worry about how bad you do the first time. You learned to walk as a child by continually falling on your face trying to take your first steps. Life is the same way.
Be so determined that no matter what happens the first time you try to do something you will try again. Keep yourself from focusing too much on the failure. Decide at the start that you just need to reach completion once in whatever way you can. Then do it again, and again, until you are satisfied with the results.
There’s no greater accelerant along the path to genius than a flaming trail of crap.
- Jonathan Fields
What is one thing you have been putting off doing for far too long?
Is there something you are too afraid to start working towards because you don’t want to fail?
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Hey Caleb,
I have been scared of being myself on video for SO long and recently I just got mad at me because this is my excuse for everything… trying to get it perfect the first time.
I wrote in big bold red letters “MAKE IT OK TO FAIL” on my whiteboard and since then, I have made 5 videos already over the span of two straight days.
It has been quite a rush but this advice you’re giving here, shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Thanks for sharing this, another brilliant post from EE!
Sergio
Until recently, I did not want to commit to working entirely from home because I was TERRIFIED of what that would mean. Would I be devalued? Would I be able to generate consistent income?
Thankfully, that is about to change!!
Great post Caleb! I’m very guilty of this, I put off doing things all the time, instead spending hours or days reading everything I can on the subject.
It’s like learning a language, you can spend years studying French textbooks and dictionaries until you know tons of vocabulary and grammar, but when you first go out and try to speak to someone in French, your conversational skills are going to suck. You have to accept that, but the sooner you start speaking, the faster your skills will improve.
I’m launching a new blog soon, and trying to find a healthy balance between reading about blogging and actually doing it.
Thanks for sharing this!
Caleb,
Just this morning I’ve read about half a dozen articles, seeking the knowledge to assist with the inane, and seemingly out of reach, items on my to-do list. I’ve gained the awareness that this is a great way to remain busy, yet totally distracted. Or rather avoidant. My emotions keep me avoiding the fear of, for example, closing in on the completion of an ebook … for fear of it flopping.
Yet, I also realize that iteration is the key to excelling as in the example, 50# of Clay: http://bit.ly/oWioz
I know that the first effort’s going to suck. And that’s what keeps me stuck. But it’s getting to where that’s okay, gaining the permission, that success has a chance. Let go of the pride … see it objectively, not emotionally.
Thanks for your motivation and the opportunity for me to think it through. I’ve some writing to do. Even if it is a “… flaming trail of crap.”
Garry, I like the way you write. Somehow I think you’ll be fine as long as you put something useful out there without over thinking it.
Shelli, thanks.
(Shoot, I thought I had that “over-thinking” thing nailed. Guess not!)
Caleb, the best lesson I ever learned was “done is better than perfect.” If you don’t get it out there, you’ll fail 100% of the time. If you get it out there imperfectly, you still have pretty good odds of success, especially if you commit to making it less crappy over time.
(And I will never forget that JF quote about leaving a trail of flaming crap – great!)
Just found this blog. The manifesto is killer!
Greetings from Brazil.
Thank you! I needed to hear this word again: DO!!!
Such true words, I’m setting up a blog at the moment but seem to spend far to much time reading about it rather than just getting on a writing my first blog post. I’ve set myself a launch deadline now so I’d better get writing!
Hey Caleb,
Man- that was awesome. Exactly the reminder I needed.
Ironic how the really ambitious people are also really insecure about putting their work into the world.
Taking the whole thing a bit less seriously and just having fun with it is the way to go. Now, we just need to remind ourselves that every morning
This is an excellent post being that, myself included, there are A LOT of perfectionists out there.
Sometimes bad stuff is the best stuff. The experience is ALWAYS ALWAYS worth it. It’s part of the adventure ya know.
Whether it’s designing your first blog, or learning how to blog, or building a desk or learning a language or creating a painting or stating a biz, the list goes on – you may as well try it and learn it… you can read info products forever, but nothing teaches us more than ACTION.
- Laur
I am a perfectionist, although you wouldn’t know it from my blog. I wasted a year paying for a “perfect” premium hosting and web service that I never used. Didn’t know what I was doing. I dumped it and jumped into WordPress blogging on my own domain. Wrote some crappy articles, made some mistakes, and learned. I made up my mind I wasn’t going to let imperfection stop me. Your first blog is never perfect unless you are paying someone else to do it. How much do you learn from that? I still write some strange articles and make mistakes. It’s okay. Some articles get readers, others don’t. I still don’t know a bunch of stuff! I swim in imperfection. Such is life outside one’s comfort zone, on the edge of a new adventure every day. Traffic is building.
I’m currently in the process of leaving behind a really nice trail of crap. It’s gonna be awesome!
Very inspiring words, all that I needed right now. Thanks a lot for the share~