Is Perfection Killing Your Success?

Free Traffic Tips | Is the Perfectionist In You Killing Your Chance of Success? : Freedom FridaysCopyright Tinu Abayomi-Paul [email protected]://www.freetraffictip.com/is-the-perfectionist-in-you-killing-your-chance-of-success-freedom-fridays.php

Is the Perfectionist In You Killing Your Chance of Success? :Freedom Fridays

It has been a while since I have done a full concept piece for Freedom Fridays.

But there's an issue I've been thinking about recently that I realized might be helpful to many of you who are just starting out,and save some time for those of you who are veterans at internet marketing, but have yet to make any real money. (Mydefinition of "real money" being a consistent income stream that allows you to retire from the rat race and either work fromhome, work for yourself, or hire other people to work for you.)

To get to the heart of this matter is going to take me doing something I do rarely, which is talk about myself in a morepersonal capacity. When you know a little more about me, it is my hope that you may realize, that if I can make it at anonline business, you can too.

As some of you know, I'm partially disabled due to a persistent back injury. I have a somewhat severe case of spinaldegenerative disorder- there are days when I'm constantly in pain and if affects my entire body.

But It's hardly life-threatening, so don't cry for me Argentina. :-D

However, it does restrict my activity now and then, though I've recently found treatments that offer me some relief, and I'msaving up to try a non-invasive technique that has worked for other people. I refuse to have surgery, or load myself withmedications that won't allow me to function day to day. The price of that is normally working through pain.

And yet, I find myself most often in good spirits and just happy to be alive. The fact that I get to work at home in my pajamas,in a capacity where I can help other people every day of my life is no small part of that.

The way I ended up working for myself was part plan, and part luck. I've always intended to go into business for myself. I hadtried many times and failed. In the meantime, some of the things I have done include:

Barista at Starbucks Dealer-trade liason at a local Saturn dealership Governement Contract Computer Sales with Cisco, Remedy and Compaq for a company that got swallowed by NorthropGrumman Mission Travelers Software Technical Support for part of the United Nations Assistant to one of the Best Tax Attorneys on the East coast Mecical Billing Specialist for a well known national corporation Software Technical Support for a company that owns a third of the property on the Las Vegas strip

I loved working, and hated the environment that went with it. I was a borderline workaholic, and I liked to see things doneright. Constantly my colleagues and bosses referred to me as a perfectionist - and yet I was well liked. If you wanted a jobdone right, you called me. If you wanted it done fast, you found someone else - unless doing the job right entailed speed.

Yes, my name's Tinu, and I'm a perfect-o-holic.

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My first seven years online, I dabbled in several things. I owned dozens of sites. I sold my poetry online. I entered writingcontests and was published on hundreds of sites, featured on several dozen, under a pen name. I turned a profit fromadvertising during the original dot com boom. About the time that Salon.com was sold, I was offered a sizeable chunk ofchange for my poetry site - we had about a million visitors a year, 2500 members and 300-500K page views a month.

But I wouldn't sell because it was my baby. Poetry was my one true love, and I couldn't bear the thought of someone messingup the haven we had started.

Again, the sins of perfectionism.

I ended up forced into my first serious venture online. I was laid off during a disability leave when I was with the division of theUnited Nations, on the last day of the 12 weeks of federal medical leave that we're supposed to be guaranteed as citizens ofthis country. It hurt, and I could have sued. But I was also presented with the opportunity to go live in Las Vegas at a muchlower cost of living than just outside Washington DC where I lived.

And I was scared out of my mind. But also exhilarated. I left first chance I got.

The first year here was painful. But I got through it, and with the money I made on the side promoting someone else'sproduct, I survived. Then two weeks before Christmas in 2003, I was told that my entire department was being laid off,effective immediately. So I finished my product, and put it on sale. Again, I survived.

The second year here, I went back to work. I had a spat with a supervisor over not being granted time off I wanted, and thefact that I sometimes had to take time off when my back got really bad. I had no insurance, so the only thing I could do wastake over the counter medication and rest. The same day I had my second thousand-dollar income day, I walked off that job afree woman and never looked back.

So how does a partially disabled woman with no income and no health insurance become a successful small business ownerwho works from home with a fully online business?

I ponder that question often. And the answer eluded me until recently.

In an audio interview yesterday, I was asked, what advice would I give to new people starting their own internet business.

One of the things I said surprised me even as I said it:

"Stop trying to make everything perfect and just start."

Who said that? Me? The Not-Quite-Recovered Perfectionist?

And then I realized something that has been the center of my success, and the reason that I've been able to get started soquickly.

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I had been planning for my success a long time. But it wasn't until I was forced to get started ahead of schedule that I actuallymade any money. Without a financial gun to my head, I never would have moved forward on any of the project that I waswaiting to make perfect before I proceeded.

Take this site for example. Is this the most fantastic, stylistic, organized blog you've ever seen?

Hardly.

And yet you stop by every chance you get. It is because it loads quickly, or because you like my picture?

Please.

You're here for information. I have something you want. That's it.

And as long as I continue to provide the information you want, you'll be back.

Someone commented to me the other day, "I don't know how you make a dime in profits!". Then he proceeded to point outevery flaw that I'm taking my time to correct.

My response was laughter. I make a lot more than a dime, and I have a lot less going for me than this guy did, quite honestly,his rudeness aside. Sure, I could take most of my profits and put them into perfecting my resouce, most likely leading to an80% - 90% increase in profits, without even raising my prices. If I made even 70% more money, I'd be a millionaire inside of ayear and a half.

That perspective is great for someone who does what I do solely for monetary gain.

And money is nice, don't get me wrong. But in the meantime, if you do nothing, you make no money.

Yes, your site can be flashier. Of course there are typos on your site if your site is over 10,000 pages. And you really shouldcorrect some of the grammatic errors in your ebook. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get started.

Do you think Anthony Robbins slid out of the womb a success? Was Kenny Rogers first words "Islands in the Stream?" Did JayZor Beyonce materialize into multi-platinum success after their first audition?

Real success takes time. Start somewhere. Anywhere. Do your best for now - that's all anyone can ask of you. The beauty ofthe internet is that you can come back and fix your little mistakes later. Yes, make the best presentation you can with whatyou have, but don't let the fact that you aren't perfect yet keep you from getting started.

People waiting for perfect conditions to get started, will Never get started, or will wait so long to put a product out that theymiss out on the market peak, and won't turn any profit at all.

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Those "perfect" people are BROKE.

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Is Perfection Killing Your Success?