Several years ago in the Facebook headquarters the words “Done not Perfect” were painted on the walls for all to see.  This seems like a strange mantra for a company to have.  Isn’t the goal to ship the best products we can?

But think about it for a minute.  The goal is to ship products, to create content, to put our works out into the world.  Are your works going out into the world?  Or are you hampered by the worry that they aren’t good enough, by needing to tweak and poke and prod to get them just right but never actually managing to release them?  Perfectionism can hold you back.

One of the dictionary definitions of perfect is “exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose”.  If your post or your product meets a need, then it’s perfect.  Providing valuable information to someone who needs it?  That’s perfect too.

Oh, I’m not saying don’t proofread your work, don’t check to see if what you are creating people need or to do your due diligence.  I’m saying follow that process and then get it out there.

I’ve fallen victim to it myself.  I started this blog, for example, months ago.  And months went by while I played around with it, getting this and that right.  What I wasn’t doing was creating actual content.  I wasn’t writing blog posts.  My words were not going forth into the world.

On a recent blog coaching call, Chantelle Ellem, also known to the world as Fat Mum Slim, the creator of the #fmsphotoaday challenge, was pretty blunt.  She told me to ‘set the posts free’.  I liked that and she was totally right.  Everyone starts somewhere and we can’t make what we do when we are starting out to be the greatest thing ever.  We are beginners.  We need to cut ourselves some slack but more importantly, we have to start.

In that same letter Mark Zuckerberg sent to his employees, he also told them to “move fast and break things”.  Another piece of advice that seems strange and yet is strangely worthwhile.  If you aren’t breaking things from time to time, you aren’t really trying to break out of your comfort zone.  Not everything you create or put out there will be successful.  You might create a product you LOVE but it flops.  That’s ok.  Move on to the next thing.  Find something else you love that works.

Really, what’s the worst that can happen?  ? Learn from that and move on.  embarrassing?  You’ll have forgotten in a shorter time that you think.  Use it as an example to show others what not to do.  Failure is not the end of the world.  Not trying is.

Even in our 9-5 jobs.  Are we creating an extra burden on ourselves by trying to make things perfect?  I’m not saying don’t do a good job, I’m saying get the job done.  Done not perfect.