Progress Over Perfection: The Pursuit of Excellence

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Welcome to the Optimizing Beyond podcast. I'm
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Josh Negron, and this show's all about sharing
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lessons, ideas, and strategies that sharpen your
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thinking, strengthen your habits, and push you
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to grow beyond comfort zones. Let's dive in.
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Today we're going to be talking about progress
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over perfection and how to pursue excellence
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instead. If you've been following since episode
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one, thank you for being part of this early journey.
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In episode one, we talked about discernment,
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knowing when to speak and when to stay silent.
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In episode two, we explored how belief and expectation
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shape what's even possible. And in episode three,
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we uncovered how focus is the rarest currency
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in the distracted world. Today's topic ties them
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all together because perfectionism kills all
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three if left unchecked. Today we're diving into
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one of the biggest traps that keeps even high
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achievers stuck, the pursuit of perfection. It
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sounds good on the surface, but there's an underbelly
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to it. We'll explore how to replace it with progress
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and the pursuit of excellence, and how to build
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systems to pursue that excellence and free yourself
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from the fear of not being ready. Think about
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it. Why do we chase perfection when it keeps
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us from often progressing? There's something
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that you want to do, and you want to perfect
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it. You want to do it well, you want to execute
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at a high level, but it's just never quite right.
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So you really never do deliver. What if progress
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instead of perfection was the real mark of mastery?
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What if that's how you do get better at things?
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Instead of obsessing about one thing. How do
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you know when something's good enough to move
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forward? That's such a hard question. How do
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you know when something's ready to be shipped?
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That's something we'll talk about today. Where
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in your life are you stuck polishing instead
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of publishing? We'll look into those answers
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and more. Let's get into why perfection looks
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productive, but is really just procrastination
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wearing a mask. So where does excellence come
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from? I believe it comes from a consistency,
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not perfection. The trap of perfectionism is
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thinking that good is not good enough. It feels
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noble, perfectionism. But honestly, it's fear
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-based. Perfectionism is often the socially acceptable
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form of procrastination. I remember back in college,
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I wasn't doing very well academically, after
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doing pretty well academically in high school,
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and I found myself in academic probation. And
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in this class, there was a teacher that wanted
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to be helpful to me. And he said, hey, I think
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I know what your problem is. Don't we all? Want
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to know what that answer is. And he shared with
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me, he's like, I think you want to execute at
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such a high level. You have very high standards
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for yourself and you don't want to do a poor
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job. Sounds good to me. And he says, but because
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of that, that's what fuels your procrastination.
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I'd never heard that before. And it really struck
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me and stuck with me for a long time. I still
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think about that. And so when I have a moment
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where I'm hesitating, executing on something,
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I ask myself, am I paralyzed because I want to
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do a great job? I don't want to fail. I don't
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want to be embarrassed or look bad. And if any
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of those answers are yes, I know what's actually
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happening. It disguises the fear of judgment,
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the fear of failure, and the fear of being seen
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as unfinished. For me, it could show up in over
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-editing these first few episodes, waiting for
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perfect timing or perfect audio. But progress
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is what builds confidence, not perfection. You
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can obsess about trying to make one thing good
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and really not get better at anything. There's
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a story that's told in James Clears' book that
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there's a class that had, I've heard two versions
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of it actually. There's a photography class and
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a pottery class. Who knows which one's the right
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one? I've heard it in both. But the story goes
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that there's a class and he divided, the teacher
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divided the class into two parts Half the class
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was instructed to take as many photographs as
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possible with minimal direction, or, if you will,
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make as many pots as possible. You can guess
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the second half. The second half was to spend
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the entire semester making the perfect pot or
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the perfect photograph. Now, what was very interesting
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is you would anticipate, at least initially,
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that the second group was going to have the best
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pot or the best photo. But that wasn't the case.
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Instead, it was the first half of the students
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that took all the photos and made all the pots.
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Because they had all the reps and all the experience,
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they knew what worked and what didn't work. And
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through those reps, they got very, very good
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at being proficient and almost near perfect.
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But it's that pursuit of excellence that fueled
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that excellence. Winning is inside all of us.
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but it will stay inside most because of fear,
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worry, and doubt. Gary Vaynerchuk said he'd rather
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keep trying because the net score outpaces attempting
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perfection. He makes fun of people when he says,
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you want to have three wins and zero losses?
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I'm over here trying to get 118 wins to 92 losses.
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Perfection is the disguise for insecurity, is
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what he says. So move on and keep going. That
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fear of failure hides behind perfectionism. How
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many projects die on the altar of I'm still tweaking?
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I've been accused before in the past of just
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tweaking things and going down these rabbit holes
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with things that don't matter. There's a big
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difference between intentional excellence when
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it's discipline driven and destructive perfectionism,
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which is fear driven. Done imperfectly today
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beats perfect never. In other words, If you never
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execute, it's not worth if you can just put something
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out there and fix it later. In other words, if
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you can get something out there and then change
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it over time to make it better, it's better than
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something that never makes it out. James Clear
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talks a lot about progress in his book. He says
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you don't rise to your goals, you fall to the
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level of your systems. Now, he's not saying goals
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mean nothing, but he's pointing out that if you
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don't have systems to help you reach your goals,
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then even if you write down your goals like all
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the mentors and gurus say, it won't matter because
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you have nothing to propel you towards your goals.
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Greatness isn't a flawless first try. It's refined
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consistency over time moving towards excellence.
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The best performers aren't perfectionists. They're
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relentless refiners. Constantly getting rep after
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rep after rep. Every podcast I record teaches
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me something new about storytelling, pacing,
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or even my audience. Lessons I couldn't have
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learned from theory or reading an article or
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a blog post. Let's face it. You can't optimize
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what doesn't exist. So you have to start. Start
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with something. And you know what? Usually it's
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messy. And that's okay. But just get it out there
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and start. massaging it then. Iteration is what
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creates feedback. And then that feedback creates
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the mastery because you know what to fix. You
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know what to work on. And here's how it boils
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down. Optimization replaces hesitation. Think
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about that. I'll say it again. Optimization replaces
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hesitation. Everything can be a learning experience.
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It's definitely not all sunshine and rainbows,
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but growth seldomly is. These habits are definitely
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easier to avoid, and we learn through failure
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instead of fearing it. Growth is about not staying
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the same. True strength of compounding lies in
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its ability to magnify our efforts over time.
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When we maintain consistency and seize every
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opportunity to progress, Our efforts accumulate
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and eventually lead farther than we ever dreamed.
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Consistency is the cornerstone of achieving success.
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Now, how do you make success seem inevitable?
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We talked about it earlier. Goals define what
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you want, and systems define how you get there.
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So goals rely on motivation, which, let's face
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it, isn't always there. And systems, though,
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rely on structure and discipline. So don't wait
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for inspiration. It may never come. Trust your
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system. So develop one if you don't have one.
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Discipline can be a type of discernment to sacrifice
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the things that you want to do for the things
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that you need to do. Like we talked about last
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week with Jordan Peterson saying it's important
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of what you attend to. So you need to be selective.
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Sacrificing present pleasures for future benefits.
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Setting yourself up for the best position for
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tomorrow. The actual actions may look different
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for everyone, but the sacrifice and setup principles
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are pretty universal. And that's what systems
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do. They turn action into identity. You become
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the person that does those things. And what's
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the beauty of systems? They don't care how you
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feel that day. You become that person. It's a
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very popular thing that mentors, therapists,
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and teachers teach people that identify that
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you're the type of person that fill in the blank.
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So for example, I'm the kind of person that doesn't
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smoke. I'm the kind of person that doesn't whatever
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you want to do, that doesn't eat junk food, that
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doesn't eat sugar. Or it can be something in
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the affirmative. I recommend positive versions
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of these. I'm the kind of person that is a good
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husband, right? And these begin to build systems
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that can compound over time. This can be applied
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in fitness, leadership, relationships, and even
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faith. Remember, as we always say, daily anything
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changes everything. Now next, I want to talk
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about comparison versus self -improvement. We're
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always trying to be better than our previous
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version of ourselves. That makes total sense.
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But there's a different type of comparison that's
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often done, especially when you're worried about
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executing well, being perfect, and those kinds
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of things. And that's comparing to someone else.
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You can't optimize your process while you're
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idolizing someone else who's honestly probably
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on a highlight reel. In other words, when you're
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comparing yourself to someone who's at their
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peak. So what good would it do for me to compare
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myself to a podcast like The Sean Ryan Show or
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Joe Rogan or Diary of a CEO, right? They have
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so much more experience, talent, and teams of
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people. It's unfair. They're playing a totally
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different game. Now, if I did that to inspire
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me or show me where I could go, sure. But if
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I'm using it as a tool to judge where I'm not,
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that's where the harm comes in. There's a very
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common cliche that says that comparison is the
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thief of joy. And I really do think there's a
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lot of truth to that. My mentor believes in what
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she calls no zero days. And it's an evolution.
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and a step up from James Clear's Never Miss Twice.
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Now, his concept states that streaks aren't everything.
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Streaks are great, but if you break your streak,
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if you fall, it's no big deal. Just commit yourself
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that you'll never miss twice. Get up, dust off,
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and get back into motion. That's how you handle
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a misstep, a relapse, or a failure. She steps
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that up and says no zero days. And she means
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that by saying you're evolving into the person
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that does not miss. It's a difference in identity.
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So that identity becomes part of you. It becomes
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part of your system. And this is where the difference
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is of self -improvement and not comparison. So
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we can benchmark with someone, but don't use
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it to put yourself down or belittle yourself.
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Comparison can reveal to you what's possible,
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but don't let it steal your peace or joy. Progress
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is about becoming something better than yesterday's
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you, but not someone else's today. Does that
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make sense? So if perfection kills progress,
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iteration fuels growth, and systems sustain success.
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What does it look like to live that out practically?
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Well, like we said earlier, shipping it. It's
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better to start now and come out with something
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and adjust as you go rather than wait for the
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elusive perfect moment. What if it never comes?
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And, you know, honestly, it probably won't, especially
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if it's your first go at something. Execution
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beats perfection. Get it out there. Every action,
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every effort brings learning and growth. And
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you need that to get better, to chase that perfection
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you'll never achieve. Your journey to excellence
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isn't in the waiting. It's in the doing and evolving.
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So what are our key takeaways? The first is perfection
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isn't excellence. Progress is. We're pursuing
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that excellence rather than pursuing perfection,
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which a friend of mine said, and I really appreciated
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that distinction. Next is optimization doesn't
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mean flawless execution. Lower that expectation.
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I know, that doesn't sound good, does it? It
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does mean consistent, intentional iteration.
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And my mentor would say daily intentional iteration.
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Because consistent can be daily, but daily is
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always consistent. So it's like a level up, right?
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And third is you don't need to be perfect to
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make an impact. You just need to move. So what
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if there's a message that you had that someone
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needed to hear, but because you wanted to make
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the message perfect, no one ever got to hear
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it? That would be a shame. I don't know what
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your gift is and what your talent is, You can
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be a blessing to someone with that gift and talent.
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That's why we have them. So if you wait to be
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perfect and you never use it, that's the real
00:14:32.049 --> 00:14:34.789
travesty. It's like the America's Got Talent
00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:38.149
contestant that's 47 years old and gets on the
00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:40.269
show and is like, yeah, I mean, I'm a singer.
00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:42.110
And they're like, awesome. Have you ever done
00:14:42.110 --> 00:14:45.129
this? And they're like, nope. And so you always
00:14:45.129 --> 00:14:47.110
cringe and worry that they're not really terrible,
00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:48.809
right? Because there are those two where people
00:14:48.809 --> 00:14:50.429
just lie to them and tell them they're amazing.
00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:55.549
and they're horrible. And then they end up being
00:14:55.549 --> 00:14:57.570
amazing, the Susan Boyles of the world, right?
00:14:58.210 --> 00:15:00.730
And so I'm glad she took that first step, but
00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:03.470
you always wonder what it would be like if she
00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:06.169
took that step earlier. The next one is momentum
00:15:06.169 --> 00:15:11.210
beats mastery every time. So get the reps. The
00:15:11.210 --> 00:15:14.590
reps are so critical at helping you learn, helping
00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:17.759
you get better. Think about it this way. One
00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.100
fun challenge you can do is go back and look
00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:22.799
at any famous YouTuber. So whether that's Mr.
00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:25.899
Beast, MKBHD, whatever, and go back to their
00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:29.679
oldest videos. And you're like, holy cow, this
00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:33.279
is terrible. Alex Ramosi talks about this. He
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.600
says, everyone was terrible. And he goes, and
00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.879
with YouTube, it's all still there. And most
00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:40.320
of them leave their early stuff because it's
00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.299
just humorous at this point. And they're comfortable
00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:45.299
with it, so it's fine. So what do we need to
00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:47.809
do this week? This week I challenge you to ship
00:15:47.809 --> 00:15:50.610
something imperfect. It's a phrase that Seth
00:15:50.610 --> 00:15:54.049
Godin says. He says, ship it. Just do it. My
00:15:54.049 --> 00:15:56.669
business partner has a saying, and his is fire,
00:15:56.830 --> 00:15:59.769
ready, aim. We laugh about it all the time because
00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:03.769
he just takes a shot, takes a swing, and if we
00:16:03.769 --> 00:16:06.029
need to adjust later, cool. If it wasn't the
00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:08.870
best play, awesome. We look back at it. What
00:16:08.870 --> 00:16:11.169
did we learn? How can we pivot? And then how
00:16:11.169 --> 00:16:13.909
can we use this for future moves? It's been amazing.
00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.960
This week, I want you to hit publish, go live,
00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.179
make the call, send the message, post the video,
00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:24.240
whatever it is, even if it's messy, and share
00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.899
with me your win. Let me know, what did you do,
00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:30.059
how did it feel, and then how did it go? And
00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:32.820
honestly, I think this matches my higher calling.
00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:36.419
I really do think that God values progress, and
00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:38.840
he finishes what he starts. He's a great example.
00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.860
So remember, you don't have to rush to perfection.
00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:45.740
Just keep participating in the process, and it
00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:48.559
will take care of itself. So thanks for hanging
00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:50.340
around with me today. Next week, we're going
00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:53.279
to explore what discipline does over motivation
00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.159
and how to stay consistent even when we don't
00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.240
feel like it. If perfectionism is the trap, then
00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:02.460
discipline can be the escape route. If this episode
00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:04.779
challenged you, share it with someone who's stuck
00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:07.160
waiting for perfect. You can find the show notes
00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:09.900
and episode recaps at optimizingbeyond .com.
00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:12.519
And remember, optimization isn't about being
00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:15.380
flawless. It's about showing up faithfully again
00:17:15.380 --> 00:17:18.940
and again. And as always, daily anything changes
00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:19.539
everything.