Source: josephbrandenburg.com

Why is it that we can come up with great ideas, get really excited about them, and not act on them? Why do we wait too long? Why is it that we dream to achieve big goals and can even read about how to get them, yet they still seem so insurmountable or the process to get there seems incredibly hard?

I’d venture to say that the answer lies within in one word: perfection. From an early age, we’re taught in school to color within the lines, to get the highest scores possible, and to avoid errors in general. Because it’s ingrained in our systems to do and say the right things, our minds reject several ideas and action-inducing catalytsts from the start. This results in stagnation, reinforcing of self doubt, and complaints of not having enough time in life.

I can speak from my own experience with my first startup: Firstly I wanted to dramatically increase the size of my client base for my financial trading business, and the best way to do that was to form a joint venture partnership with a brokerage firm, but I was unwilling to pick up the phone and call one, because I believed I didn’t quite have the credibility yet. Secondly, I wanted to launch a product that I had been developing for over six months, but I refrained from launching it because I wanted to add more and more software modules, instructional guides, and support.  I feared I wouldn’t be offering enough value for the price point I was charging.

As you can see, my inaction was rooted in an insecurity of not being or creating something perfect. In both cases, I missed out on opportunities, lost valuable clients to competitors, and spent much more time than I needed to. During the whole process, I endured a mental tug-of-war between two voices: one that said I was going to win, and one that taunted me and threatened failure. Needless to say this greatly impeded progress.

With time and input from a circle of trusted entrepreneurs and mentors, I began to see a faster path to success. I learned how to build credibility within just a week of starting out, I learned how to land huge partnerships with corporations while having minimal financial resources, and I learned how to get press for free with little of my own time invested. In short, the secret to doing all of this was to be “imperfect with a deadline.” Basically, if you get really clear on your vision of what you want to accomplish, fast success is just a matter of consistently taking action (any action!) toward its attainment and making corrections as you veer off path (as you inevitably will).

People constantly ask me, “how is it that you’re able to have all these great random experiences in your life? How do you always land on your feet when something bad happens? Why are you so lucky?” I’m not lucky—in fact one could argue that I’m precisely unlucky, because outcomes seldom turn out the way I expect—but they often turn out better. This happens because I keep a clear intention in my mind, take actions toward its attainment (no matter how small), and complete them no matter what (and quickly). By consistently committing to a small number of actions and completing them by a short deadline (and not stressing too much over the quality), I’ve set up a subconscious pattern that declares to my mind, “I am someone who can commit to something and get it done.” Although this pattern emerged from taking small actions, it grew stronger and allowed me to pursue larger goals. Practice the following to master the art of imperfection and create more time in your day and more success in your life:

1. Create a vision of what you want
2. Break down what may seem like an insurmountable challenge into chunks and break those down further into actions that are within in your control
3. Pick 1-2 actions MAX you can do within a given period (day/week). These should be the ones that offer the highest leverage toward your goals. Anything more and you are just making yourself busy and distracting your mind.
4. Give yourself a deadline that leaves you with slightly less time than you think is possible to complete the actions. The more time you give yourself something, the more you’ll either procrastinate or try to perfect or add more to something. Giving yourself ample time for an action is like a giving a shopping addict more money to solve a debt problem. Keep in mind that the above step limits the amount of actions you take per unit time so that you don’t feel like you’re a hamster running on a wheel for this step.
5. Complete it AT ALL COSTS! Don’t worry if the result is crap. You will get better at this in time. Right now we’re just building a cycle of positive reinforcement. Remember, sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity.
6. Let go of your ego and the need to be right or look good. Often this conflicts with your desired result.

I remember spending my last months of college starting to regret my decision to go on to grad school. The guy sitting on my left in the classroom was off to Microsoft to program code and the girl on my right kept bragging about getting through the final round of I-banking interviews. Both were about to make killer salaries, dine at Michelin three star restaurants regularly, and live in an apartment with granite countertops and a view of the water. I was admittedly quite envious and was starting to wonder if forgoing a decent salary to go work in a lab for five years and write a book was the right decision. Unfortunately for them, however, both were also about to test their limits of sleep deprivation and ability to tolerate taking orders from managers without question.

Speaking with my investment banking friend in New York recently, she seemed to be unhappy about the corporate lifestyle. She slammed down the phone after getting a call on Sunday morning asking her to come in, yet she defended her situation, saying that “it’s life, and I just have to deal with it.” It suddenly hit me: this is a reflection of society’s definition of success. It doesn’t matter how one feels; it’s just the thing to do.

I’m not saying anything new here, really: People know that this is bad on a conscious level, but they still don’t believe deep down that it’s not ok. Otherwise they wouldn’t tolerate it. I believe that people have to deal with two obstacles before they can achieve true balance:

• Deal with the fear of what their family, friends, peers, and supervisors will think if they create their own definition of success (which should address what makes a life worth living)
• Address the sense of powerlessness they feel. People should think twice about what may happen to them if they don’t blindly follow company lifestyle principles and let corporations set work-life balance programs.

As an entrepreneur, I’m always in the mode of commercializing interesting ideas and trying to make money, but after seeing what work for the sake of work has done to my friends I’ve vowed never to do it at the expense of my balance in life. I’ve made it a point to eliminate constant interruptions, to set my own schedules (and not let others set it for me), and to complete meaningful actions (instead of letting others inundate me with a pile of tasks).

Nigel Marsh, author of Overworked and Underlaid, recently took the stage to talk about how he envisions people taking control of their lives and experiencing the things that matter in life in addition to doing excellent work. Watch it below:

I’ve just finished my studies in New York and I’m flying back to west coast to start a new life while working with a startup in Silicon Valley. As I started packing up everything I realized that I had a lot of useless stuff that I’ve been carrying around with me over the last decade as I’ve moved from place to place, and it has only taken up space, cost me money for shipping, and just added to the “baggage” or “clutter” of my life rather than contributing to anything positive. This made me realize that we all have clutter, whether mental or physical, that’s not helping us, and is even affecting our ability to achieve success and rock this world.

Clear the clutter. In these times our minds are racing at light years per second, trying to keep up with Ipods, Facebook, finances, and work. Each of these thoughts of worry and stress distract us from being able to focus on the activities in our life that are going to produce the most income, joy, and well being.

“Clutter” in your mind results from unresolved conflicts with others, an overly complicated schedule, too high expectations, junk in the home/workspace, and poor health, among other things. If you want to reduce clutter so that you can maximize what you get out of life, you need to first ask yourself what “loose ends” you need to bring closure to in your life and take care of them. Meditation also helps with this. I’m not too in to the Zen-hippie stuff, but something I find really helps me feel relaxed and clears my mind to an optimal state is Holosync—check it out here (affiliate link).

Reducing the complexity of your schedule and the stress that comes along with it by selecting only activities that are going to offer you the most leverage in reaching your goals will also help. Be proactive: instead of reacting to whatever tasks come your way and having a piled-up to-do list, start off the day by just trying to complete 1-2 tasks that meet your big picture goals. Be OK with the smaller things not being completed and stop saying “YES” too often to people who ask for favors and tasks to be completed. This is your life.

Thirdly, get rid of junk lying around your apartment and workspace. I don’t care if you paid for it or you think you might need it “just in case,” 7 years from now—if it’s not adding any more value to your life and is just taking up space, blocking energy flow, and adding excess weight to your life, just get rid of it. Your inner world is a reflection of your outer world, so if you find that your life is disorganized and chaotic; see if your space appears the same way.

Lastly, your body’s condition is the very foundation of your life. How you are physically is going to determine how you feel, which controls what thoughts you’ll have, which in turn controls what type of actions you’ll take, which can determine the outcomes you get out in life.

Develop an optimal mindset for every day in your life by clearing the clutter in your mind and your space. If you can take care of this you’ll attract better outcomes in your business and feel more free, something that is not really associated with entrepreneurship, but is integral to success.