Penny Casselman [00:00:00]:
I love that idea of b minus is better than average. Just think of school. If you got a c in a class you hated, you were on a bell curve average. You were where most people would fall. So why, when we get to things in our life, do we push so hard to get an a plu when the difference in the real world between an a plus and a b minus, fractional when you step back and look at it.
Penny Casselman [00:00:42]:
Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman, a former corporate girl turned entrepreneur, and I've spent years pivoting my work and life to arrive here today. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life, and that life starts when you grab a red marker and claim what you truly desire. Regardless of where you came from, where you're at, or where you think you're headed, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion.
Penny Casselman [00:01:31]:
Hello, my friend, and welcome to another episode of Pivot with Passion. Today, I wanna dive into done is better than perfect. I happen to find myself visiting my parent out of state. I'm coming at you from the basement of my parent's house. And, yes, done is better than perfect. There are so many reasons I could have thrown up this week about why it was okay if I missed yet another posting of an episode. I was out of town. I wasn't with my normal recording equipment.
Penny Casselman [00:02:14]:
But when I first started this podcast, it was because doctors thought my cancer made a comeback. Fast forward to almost a year later, today, June, they still don't know what exactly is wrong with me. All you need to know is I'm feeling good, so I'm moving forward with my life regardless. Having said that, last year was a lot more unknown. And during that time, I told myself, although I was not gonna actively look for speaking engagement, I would make my own page. I'm starting and launching this podcast. I felt comfortable moving forward with that decision because regardless of where I would ever going to find myself, whether that was in a hospital room, stuck in my house, or traveling. I can do a podcast from everywhere.
Penny Casselman [00:03:17]:
And today I am putting that commitment to the test. This is being done on my phone in a basement with a lavalier microphone, but I'm here and I'm showing up. And I hope it gives you a sliver of permission to do just that in your own life because my friend is saying done and better than perfect. I am living that today and so can you. Let me ask this. If you find yourself stuck in moving a goal forward or maybe a project at work or a vision that you've held you're pursuing. You're probably falling into 1 of 3 trap, And that's what I wanna get into today. Let's at least call them out for what they are so that we can take corrective action or at a minimum acknowledge them so that we can start working through and get to that point where done is better than perfect.
Penny Casselman [00:04:23]:
Because by the end of this episode, I want you to stop castraphizing. Say that 3 times fast. What ifs? What if I put something out and someone doesn't like it? Or what if I don't have all the information? Or what if I make a mistake? And I want you to start believing that you have everything you need right now to make an educated step forward and effort that you put work would be good enough to move you forward and at least get you to a point of learning something about the path ahead. No one hold a magic 8 ball, and so thinking about all of those, what if serves no one. So with all of that in mind, stick with me. And on the other side, we're gonna dive into those 3 areas that might be holding you back. And we're gonna call them out for what they are, but we can all move forward.
Penny Casselman [00:05:35]:
It's time for a clarity cocktail.
Penny Casselman [00:05:39]:
The clarity cocktail today is this. There's no right or wrong path, just your path. Let me say that again. There's no right or wrong path, just your path. Author, unknown. So think about places that you routinely go. For instance, the grocery store, the gas station, a pharmacy. How many different ways can you take and get to that ultimate destination? As you go through that routine path, you might find that there are numerous point where you have to make a decision.
Penny Casselman [00:06:18]:
Do I go straight, left, or right? And the beauty in that is there's no wrong way, right, to get to the grocery store. There's no wrong way to get to the gas station or the pharmacy. Now you could argue they're faster way to get there. There might be a shorter distance way to get there. But in truth, every path leads you your final destination. And knowing that gives you a little freedom and belief and confidence in yourself that regardless of which way you go, you're still gonna end up where you wanted. There are numerous times in my life that I can think of where I know I didn't follow the, quote, right way to do something. Case in point, my book.
Penny Casselman [00:07:15]:
When I wrote my book, I had zero idea what I was doing. I started where I thought I should and that was getting a memoir about Casselman and reading that. Well, I will tell you, I got through about 20 pages of this memoir and hated it. And when I got to the end of the 20th page, I shut the book, set it aside and said, I'm writing my book. I don't care how anyone else does it. I don't care what's already been written. It is something that I need to get out of my system, my brain, my body, my mind, put it on paper so that I can share it with the world. And I didn't care at that point whether I was doing it, quote, right way Because had I let that seep in when I was writing the book, sitting here today, it still may have never been completed or published because I would have found some other articles, some other suggestion, some other best practice of how to move a book forward.
Penny Casselman [00:08:25]:
Might my book have been more successful had I done any of those things? Maybe. I don't have an 8 ball and I wasn't willing to stop the forward momentum I had in completing it. When I was introduced to this quote, I was sitting at a seminar next to a woman, and we were just chatting about our backgrounds and what we've done. And she had mentioned that one of her mentors growing up, looked at her one day and said, there's no right or wrong path, just your path. And that little gem stuck with her all these years later to help her realize her dream of becoming a doctor, a PhD researcher. And she did it. And her path didn't look like anyone else's because she held fast the idea that what she was going after, she deserved. She believed that she could do it.
Penny Casselman [00:09:24]:
She saw the vision of where she was headed, and she was ready to take action. And so with that at her back, she just kept moving forward. And I loved that quote so much that I've made a note on my phone, and I'm pulling it out today to share with you one glimpse of perspective for you. There is not one person on earth, not one person on earth that is like you or is like me. Even if we were born on the same day, in the same town, in the same hospital, with the same age of parent, we still will experience everything in our life So uniquely we can take advice. We can take insight. We can take pointers from people who have gone before us, but the fact that there is no right or wrong path, just your path, hold that close, hold it tight because there's no one in the world like you now or ever. And that you already have everything you need to keep moving down your path.
Penny Casselman [00:10:34]:
The next time you go to the grocery store or the gas station or the pharmacy, maybe pick a different route, prove to yourself that there's no one right way. And whether that's true for an errand or your life, know that you, my friend, will get your final destination.
Penny Casselman [00:10:55]:
And now back to the episode. Cheers.
Penny Casselman [00:10:59]:
So circling back to this idea that done is better than perfect. I mentioned this at the top of the episode, but I live this philosophy every single time I do a podcast. Today, I am recording this on my phone. I don't have the proper light. I am reading from my remarkable tablet instead of little notes on my screen. But you know what? Getting that out in the world is more important than me looking camera perfect for the podcast. I had no idea if I sit here right now recording what sound quality is going to be for this episode. If you have listened up into this point and have noticed a difference, thank you for hanging in with me.
Penny Casselman [00:11:48]:
Now we get to explore those 3 areas where if you're feeling stuck, the 3 things that might be getting in your way are this. The first one is planning. Planning can lead to procrastination. I don't have all the details I need. I'm just gonna spend one more hour working through this. My friend, procrastination is your worst enemy, especially when it combined with planning. The second thing is perfection. I'll use myself as the perfect example.
Penny Casselman [00:12:20]:
Again, I am recording this podcast so unconventionally this week, under lighting that may have me looking like I'm telling a scary ghost story over a campfire. But here's the thing, I adore this quote, and it is art is never done. It's abandoned. Love that. Think about a masterful painting that you've seen hanging in a museum, or maybe you have a print on your wall at home. I guarantee if you were able to talk to the artist, they might share with you. After I set it aside to dry, I saw this one thing that would bothering me. And I I was just I had to let myself move on because there is no such thing as perfection ever.
Penny Casselman [00:13:13]:
So in brief, done in better than perfect. The third thing is comparison. And again, I'll draw on my book experience. If I had compared what I was working on with my book to a memoir that I fell in love with and realized how much better it was than mine, again, I may have never finished my book. There is no comparison because the only person I'm comparing should be me. You might be thinking to yourself, Penny, yes, there is such thing as perfection. And I know that if I did a little bit more planning or held on to my idea of perfection or just compared myself to the right ball, then I will be able to successfully move forward. My French here is a statistic that I pull from all the time in this podcast, and that is what is the number one regret of dying? And that is that they didn't live a life true to themselves for all of those reasons that I just listed.
Penny Casselman [00:14:21]:
Maybe they didn't achieve something in life because they spent so much time planning. Maybe they didn't get to it because they didn't think it was perfect enough. And maybe they just kept comparing themselves to others when there is no relevant to that when you get to the end of your life. Let's think about ways to overcome those 3 pesky trap that you might find yourself in. So planning, put a date on the calendar for you to complete something. We all know from school, nothing lights a fire under our ability to get something done by a deadline, which is why we spent all nighter trying to complete something in order to get it delivered to the professor or teacher before it would do. Proof positive that when you put something on a calendar, it moves you to action. So kick the plan a to the curb, pick a date and know that you're going to get some piece of what you're working on done.
Penny Casselman [00:15:26]:
The second perfection. There's a quote from a life coach, Brooke Castillo, and she says, do you remember b minus is above average? I love that idea of b minus is better than average. Just think of school. If you got a c in a class you hated, you were on a bell curve average. You were where most people would fall. So why when we get to things in our life, do we push so hard to get an a when the difference in the real world between an a plus and a b minus? Fractional when you step back and look at it. So engrave the b minus because I certainly am this week. And the third one is comparison.
Penny Casselman [00:16:16]:
Think of your favorite rock band or band. It doesn't matter if it's rock, it could be jazz, it could be hip hop. What would happen if your favorite band listened to a Beethoven piece, threw their hands up and went, why should I try? Because musical perfection had already occurred, and I can't possibly write something as widespread and appreciated as what Beethoven wrote. You would be sad. Right? I would be heartbroken if Shirley Manson, the lead singer of Garbage, decided she wasn't good enough because people who had come before her did it better. Or Gwen Stefani or anyone you can think of. If they had stopped and allowed themselves compare their efforts and abilities to other people, we might never have some of the most amazing music to appreciate. If you find yourself disappointed with where you're at or frustrated or self loathing in your effort, put something on your calendar.
Penny Casselman [00:17:31]:
Might be your best first step. And that the only person you should compare yourself to is you. Because there's no one in the world who is as unique as you are. The more you move forward with an idea, a project, a vision, when you find yourself hitting the planning trap, perfection trap, the comparison trap, Call it out for what it is. And then remember that there is no right or wrong path, just your path, and you will get to where you're going. Because my friend, regardless of where you are headed, you are one choice away from creating your nominal life. And I can't wait to see you here next week in my b minus glory, sharing insights, thought with you again. Take care.
Penny Casselman [00:18:33]:
Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of pivot with passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, Get excited for your future and make your first move to pivot with passion.
