“Progress Not Perfection”. A quote shared with me by my new friends, Entrepreneur Arielle Fierman, creator of www.BewellwithArielle.com. and Kimberly Lewis, entrepreneur and designer for www.KimberlyLewisHome.com. This saying rings so true to me, as an admitted perfectionist – I accomplish tasks only that which I am 100% satisfied, as opposed to knocking more “future based” things off my check list that I feel are not perfect. I am working on this…

On the Topic of getting work accomplished and moving forward, this may not be so conducive.

I constantly refer to www.the99percent.com by author and entrepreneur Scott Belsky, as well as his book Making Ideas Happen for guidance on this subject.

Sometimes, when launching a new business, finishing a project or making a dent in a long term goal; the answer is PROGRESS, not Perfection.

DO, get it done, and don’t over analyze. You can always go back and fix it or update it.

Starting a new business? Design and order business cards NOW- not after your third draft of different layouts. You need these cards to entice clients for your new business. Would you rather meet some potential customer and hand them your basic yet effective hot-off-the-press cards or get stuck in an elevator with a target consumer and say “oh, I don’t have my cards yet”. (Thanks Arielle for the advice).

Aiming to write that 800 page novel, finish that financial plan, or tackle any other huge fete? Progress, not perfection. START, do one hour a day of the first step for the task at hand. Life is short. Would you rather have NEVER started, because it has to be perfect, or feel you must finish it in one sitting? Bah. Just Do It, as the famed Nike slogan proclaims- Just DO It.

Facing a similar undertaking, I recently had the MOST amazing surgery ever!! I have just undergone PRK laser eye refraction surgery – quite different than LASIC. My amazing Dr. preformed the surgery– Dr. Hatsis of Hatsis Laser Vision in Rockville Center, NY. Since LASIC is a more “instant gratification” type of surgery where you walk right out and see perfectly, PRK has a week to two weeks recovery time with your eyesight getting better and better for up to six months!

Being out of commission for a week was hard enough, but sticking to this mantra “progress, not perfection” was really helpful. When every day my eye sight was improving slowly but surely, each day I could spend a little more time getting computer work done, yet some days none at all. The recovery and resting of my eyes, though going against my less than patient nature, was actually more progress than I could get by straining my eyes. The lesson here: listen to your body. Your body knows what progress you need, be easy with yourself and trust it will all get done. PROGRESS, seeing better one day at a time – not perfection, expecting to be healed over night or expecting results of a different procedure.

Patience also comes to mind. Ah, yes patience. The kiss of death OR success of any goal in life. Knowing when to wait and when to pounce is key. Understanding Progress vs. Perfection is a mixture of listening to your instincts, understanding deadlines, and knowing that Rome was not built in one day.

Hope this inspires you. Rock on.