Latest / Impact Ready / 191. Progress Over Perfection: How to Start Before You're Ready

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191. Progress Over Perfection: How to Start Before You're Ready · Impact Ready

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  Welcome to Impact Ready, a show dedicated to helping you elevate
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  your impact in the world. I'm Steph Safra, your host.
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  Let's explore the power of showing up with intention and
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  energy each day. This is for those who seek to
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  make life truly meaningful. Get ready for impact.
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  Hello, team. Welcome to the start of a new
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  week. I'm so glad you're here.
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  Before I get into the episode for today, I wanted to share
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  something with you. I'm starting a new project.
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  It's called Proof of Light, and what it is, is a collection of
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  real stories from people about moments when someone else made a
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  difference in their life. Maybe it was a small or big act
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  of kindness. Could have been someone showing
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  up at the right time, something that reminded you of the good in
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  people. When you start looking for
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  light, you begin to see more of it, and you also start to
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  realize how even the smallest actions can create massive
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  ripple effects. So if you have a story like
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  that, an act of random or purposeful kindness, or somebody
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  just showing up big for you, send me your proof of light.
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  You can send me your story through my website.
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  You can use the link on my Instagram page.
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  It's in my bio or you can e-mail me directly at
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  steph@stephsafer.com. And I'll be sharing these
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  stories here on the podcast and my social channels so that we
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  can start shifting what we notice and remembering how much
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  impact a single moment can have. So that is the proof of Light
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  Project. Start looking for it.
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  I'm really excited about it. Today's episode is about
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  starting. It's about starting the project
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  or the dream or the thing that you've been thinking about for
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  years. Basically, this is a message of
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  just do it, but with a deeper explanation and exploration of
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  why. And truthfully, this is not a
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  new conversation on this podcast, but we have to hear
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  things a couple of different ways to be able to synthesize
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  them. And you never really know what's
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  going to sink in. Common sense is not always
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  common practice, unfortunately for all of us.
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  And there are a lot of coaches and mentors that I listen to on
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  the regular, and they often say a lot of the same things.
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  But man, some days I'll be driving down the highway
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  listening to somebody tell the same story or talk about the
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  same idea for maybe the 10th or the 50th time, and it will just
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  hit me differently. Something will sink in and it
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  will be one of those brilliant aha moments.
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  So today we talk about starting imperfectly so that you can make
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  progress towards that future dream that you have.
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  Starting imperfectly and not waiting.
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  I think any founder or entrepreneur would tell you if
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  you asked them that their company started one way and now
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  is completely different. Sometimes people start with one
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  product and end up focusing and creating a whole business around
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  something entirely different. It's sort of that idea of humble
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  beginnings. Your end outcome looks wildly
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  different than how you started, and that's really common.
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  It's a very common story, something that we can accept in
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  life as being part of the normal routine.
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  It's part of playing the game. If you were writing a book, what
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  you publish is probably a lot different than your first draft.
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  Your initial podcast is a lot different than your 500th
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  episode of your podcast. You're a lot different as a
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  teacher of 10 years than what you were like as a teacher
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  teaching your first eighth grade social studies class.
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  You get the picture. And it seems really obvious.
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  But yet we don't take our own logic into account when our
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  saboteur voices are telling us to hold back on taking action on
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  our dreams. I think we all do it.
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  Some people are better than others at tuning out those
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  voices and really holding the perspective that progress beats
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  perfection and that just starting something is better
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  than waiting. If you've ever read Elizabeth
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  Gilbert's book Big Magic, she writes about this very thing and
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  she elaborates and says that ideas are fleeting and that if
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  you don't act on one, it will leave you and go to someone
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  else, and that someone else is going to bring it to life.
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  It's a really interesting book and I'm going to be honest with
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  you. There's a part of me that does
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  this still to this day. There's a part of me that's
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  hesitated to put out or publish anything having to do with
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  Impact Ready, my coaching material.
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  I've created a framework around being Impact Ready that teaches
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  people how to take ownership in their life and upgrade their
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  systems and amplify their impact.
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  I almost didn't put that out. I created this podcast with the
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  title Impact Ready where we talk all about those same things and
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  the different facets of what impact means.
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  I've made it a big part of my brand and it's because I truly
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  believe in this message. I think that it's so important
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  for us to become more self aware and be able to self regulate
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  with greater skill so that we can have better impact for
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  ourselves and for the people around us.
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  You've heard me talk about it. I'm insanely passionate about
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  it. I think about it all the time.
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  It's what I talk to other people about.
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  It's what I read books on and listen to podcasts about.
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  There's really not a day that goes by right now that I'm not
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  thinking about the idea of impact or how I might
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  communicate it to people. But here's the thing.
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  Like I said, I hesitate sometimes.
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  And the reason I hesitate is because I know that it's not
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  great yet. I hope that it's good.
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  I put a lot of work into this and I really hope that what I
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  put into the world is helpful to people.
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  And it's good. But I know it's not great yet.
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  And I say that very humbly. I don't say that to be self
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  deprecating, but I know it's not great yet and I know it's not
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  going to be the end result. What do I mean by that?
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  I mean that I know there's more that I want to do.
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  There's more to the message that I have to put out into the world
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  then what is here now. These are my humble beginnings.
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  I can appreciate that. I can honor it.
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  I can admit to it. I can admit that I don't fully
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  see the whole picture of it all yet.
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  I see bits of it and I get little hits of inspiration, but
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  it's still very cloudy or it's fleeting.
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  The end result is, for example, I know that healing is going to
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  be a part of my message at some point in time, somewhere down
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  the line, maybe years down the road, I'm going to be talking
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  about healing to some degree. I know that.
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  Don't ask me how I know I don't really understand it myself, but
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  it just keeps coming up in my mind and my heart and I think
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  it's a really important message. I spent the 1st 16 years of my
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  career treating patients with Chinese medicine and focusing on
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  healing in that respect. But I also have continued to do
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  my own learning when it comes to healing with other modalities.
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  I do a lot of reading and learning about energy, and
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  there's definitely a big spirituality aspect to it.
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  I just don't know how it's all going to come together.
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  I do know that it has a big connection to our ability to
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  impact. I understand that somebody who
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  is more spiritually, mentally, emotionally whole and healed
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  will ultimately have a more profound impact in the world.
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  I get that. But I don't know what this will
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  turn into. And because of that, because I
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  recognize that this is just the beginning and it's not going to
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  be where I end up, there's a part of me that wants to say no,
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  no, no, no. Don't commit to 1 brand right
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  now. Don't commit to 1 message.
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  Maybe you should wait. Maybe you shouldn't be putting
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  all this stuff out there. Maybe you shouldn't be talking
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  on the Internet. Maybe you shouldn't be speaking
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  on stages. Maybe you shouldn't be putting
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  together frameworks that say XYZ.
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  Maybe you should take more time to let things settle out so you
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  have a better idea of what the end product is going to be.
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  And then my saboteurs are saying, who do you think you are
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  to be saying these things? That's not original, That's not
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  new. People already know this.
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  This isn't helpful. Those are saboteur voices, and
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  in the past I would have listened to those voices and
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  that other voice of the perfectionist saying don't put
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  it out yet. It's not ready.
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  I know that voice so damn well. That is in fact the voice that
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  kept me from starting my podcast three years before I actually
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  started it. It's the voice that kept me from
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  getting on stages before I did. It's the voice that kept me from
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  coming out to my friends and my family until I was 30 years old.
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  And it's the same voice that quietly says to me, maybe you're
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  not cut out for this. And I know that I'm not alone
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  because I talked to so many people who have these types of
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  voices. And maybe they're not saying the
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  exact same thing, but they're of the same vein.
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  It's pretty universal. And that's why it's so important
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  to start the thing, whatever The thing is, and get it out into
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  the world as soon as possible. Because when you don't, when you
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  sit on it and you wait for it to be perfect and look for what the
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  end product might be 10 years down the road, and you just
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  never start. You withhold all that good
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  information that you might have inside of you from the world.
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  Also, if you never start, you never get the honor or the
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  privilege of having that thing evolve into what you really
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  dreamed it could be. If you don't start, you never
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  get to that end product 10 years down the line.
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  If you don't begin with an imperfect version of something,
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  it means you'll never see that perfect, more complete version
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  of what you were hoping for. I heard somebody talking about
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  this idea recently and they were saying that they view the
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  inaction, the waiting, the holding off until things are
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  perfect as selfishness. They say it's selfish to not
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  write the book or create the content or build the curriculum
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  or share the idea or say what you feel because you're
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  withholding your gifts and something that could be helpful
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  to other people. And I kind of agree with that.
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  If I think about it, I, I never really use the word selfish
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  because I don't think about it as being done with malice or
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  self-interest at heart. But I guess in a way it's pretty
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  motivating and moving when you add that level of responsibility
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  to it. I know that if I think about my
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  tendency to hold back out of fear or because of my own
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  insecurities, and I see that as a selfish act, it does make me
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  more prone to move. So that is one way to consider
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  it. Though the intent of this
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  conversation is not to guilt trip anybody, it is kind of a
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  powerful lens to to look at it through.
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  Now remember, I'm not talking about waiting to do your due
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  diligence or your research or get prepared for something.
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  You know, I love preparation and I think that goes a long way.
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  I think a couple of hours of preparation and planning can go
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  a long way. And I think an extra little 5%
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  at the end just going over your project or looking things over
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  with your team or summarizing something with your partner.
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  If you're going through a hard conversation, I think that
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  little extra bit at the beginning and the end is so
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  important and it's so helpful. That's not what I'm talking
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  about. I'm talking about the big time
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  waiting, the big time in action, the big time putting off the the
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  thing that you think about or you're passionate about or you
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  dream about. I know you all get the
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  distinction. The last thing I'll say about
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  this is that we can all understand that one of the main
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  reasons we hold back is because of fear.
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  It's often the fear of what other people might think of us.
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  And the reminder that I give myself all the time is that
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  people aren't thinking about me that much.
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  People are not thinking about other people as much as we think
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  they are. People are thinking about
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  themselves, just like you and I are thinking about ourselves and
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  worried about the perceptions of others.
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  That's how other people feel. So that's something that I try
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  very hard to let go of. One day I'm going to be gone and
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  people aren't going to remember my name or what I did and so why
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  should I care what other people think right now?
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  It's all going to be a wash years down the road.
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  So with all that said and a lot of these ideas about getting
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  started and just moving, my challenge to you this week is
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  very simple. It is to think about what you
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  are holding back on and just that simple question, where am I
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  holding back is enough to get your wheels turning and most
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  likely you'll know the answer within a few seconds.
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  It's simple, but it's really damn powerful.
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  So that's all for this episode today.
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  Don't forget about Proof of Light, this new project that I'm
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  starting. I'd love to hear your stories of
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  impact and understand the ripple effects that they've had in your
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  life or in someone else's life. Maybe you've been a witness to
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  that. Send them to me.
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  You can reach me by e-mail on my website or on my Instagram.
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  And I think you would advance for sharing those stories
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  because just putting them out into the world is going to make
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  a difference. I appreciate you being here and
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  for listening today. And as always, team, thank you
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  for being ready to Impact. Thanks for listening to Impact
• 13:46
  Ready. I hope today's episode inspired
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  you to own your impact and recognize that you are powerful.
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  By elevating our energy and awareness, we can create
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  exponential change in this life. If you enjoyed today's insights,
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  share them with a friend and subscribe to the show for more.
• 14:02
  I truly appreciate you. Thanks again for being here.