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Website heresy: Forget perfect, start being awesome

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I love awesome. I hate perfect.

Perfect is a creepy abusive boyfriend: he stalks my friends, messes with their creative processes, makes them doubt themselves, trashes their favourite projects and leaves them powerless and afraid. I want to drag perfect out into the parking lot, pick up a aluminium baseball bat, and teach perfect a lesson it’ll never forget. Perfect will spit out teeth and cry for mercy before I’m done.

Awesome is your favourite perky grandma: she approves of you, encourages you to try new stuff, tells you forget the rules, sing loud and unashamed. She comes to your experimental art showings, tells you when your pieces aren’t good enough, and pushes you into making better ones. I bask in awesome’s sunshiny regard.

I have Strong Feelings on this. So I made a video about why you should stop trying to be perfect and start trying to be awesome.

Your five-minute mission, should you choose to accept it…

1. Choose: are you going to strive for perfect, or for awesome? (If you decide “perfect”, then I wish you well but maybe you should stop reading these posts.)

2. If you choose “awesome” – and why wouldn’t you? – then commit to never, ever aiming for perfect. Make sure your goals, your products, your voice match up with that decision.

3. Go forth and Be Awesome.

Which have you chosen? Does “perfect” have any redeeming characteristics? Tell me in the comments!

30 Comments - Join the conversation!
  • http://www.ubervu.com/conversations/www.beawesomeonline.com/forget-perfect-start-being-awesome uberVU – social comments

    Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by CatherineCaine: Video post! Forget perfect, start being awesome http://tinyurl.com/ya6t8e7...

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The comment’s server IP (174.129.78.58) doesn’t match the comment’s URL host IP (174.129.41.174) and so is spam.

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Fixed!

  • Networkaegis

    I find that when I strive for perfection I find myself working towards someone else's standard or measure. When I work towards awesome it comes from within me. My standards, my knowledge, my thoughts, my feelings, these are what I find in anything that I do that is awesome. Maybe perfection is a struggle to be someone else and awesome is being yourself.

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    That's the best description I've heard of it! I had to tweet that, thanks for sharing it.

  • http://twitter.com/AlexiaPetrakos Alexia

    as a recovering perfectionist, I intend to choose Awesome instead. Much less stress ;)

    and the flailing arms part is key. Most definitely ;)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    I approve of your choice and intend to support you every step of the way. :)

  • http://bornfamous.com/ LaVonne Ellis

    You are TOTALLY awesome. Great post, and just what I needed today. How do you always know that?

  • http://www.GrandmaMaryShow.com/ Andrea Vahl

    Perfect keeps me from moving forward. I'll go for awesome any day! And then there are days where I choose “done”. Thanks Catherine!

  • http://squarepegpeople.typepad.com/ Square-Peg Karen

    My arms were flailing while listening (and watching) your video!! I want to be that “favourite perky grandma” – I'm claiming it: I AM her!!

    And I think perfect DOES have at least one redeeming characteristic — chasing it can bore the #@*! out of you – which can lead to the “Awesome builds on awesome” thing that you mentioned!!

  • http://twitter.com/CraftingSpirit Crafting Spirit

    Awe.Some. And you hit the nail on the proverbial head. I am a perfectionist – I didn't realize that until just recently (it doesn't show up in EVERY thing I do… like marketing and sticking with one project.)

    p.s. Your hair is totally fine – that was brilliant at the end – a perfect example of your entire talk.

  • http://themakingroom.com/ Amy Sey

    This is such the sort of post I need to read. Be awesome, not perfect, get blogging, get doing, woo!

  • http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/default.aspx Rebecca Leaman

    Flailing arms of awesomeness – brilliant definition, Catherine. Now you need to come out with a nice line in coffee cups, a desktop reminder of what we're all striving for. :)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    To be honest? I bugged your house. :)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Thanks Andrea! “Done” is an awesome achievement at times, because you've usually had to overcome a whoooole lot of nasty forces to get there.

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Hi there Karen!

    Is it boring to chase perfection? (It's never been my besetting sin.) Interesting! I never thought of that.

    I support and encourage your perky grandma-dom!

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    You know, I actually might! :)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Thanks Amy, I'm glad it helps. Speaking of, are you free for the chat you wanted today? I am.

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    You're a high-functioning perfectionist if so. Didn't you start an entire website in three days not too long ago? (an AWESOME website, too)

  • http://www.engageyourstrengths.com wdaunheimer

    Nice, Catherine! Video adds a nice touch, and I haven't seen one of you since I first visited your site. The message was fantastic, one of those things that we've heard before but have forgotten over the years or never quite accepted or never given ourselves permission to believe.

    One small bit of feedback – I found it distracting that the video was very segmented. There were so many small scenes, almost vignettes, that I found myself not being absorbed into your message as I might have been if it had been one continuous shot or a few longer scenes. Perhaps its just me though.

    What I found FANTASTIC is your change from black tshirt to yellow and back again, as a visual clue to perfection vs awesome. The yellow brightened your whole face and it looked as if you might have shot those portions in a brighter room also, given those segments a lighter, more joyous feel, just as your words did. Extremely effective. I'm sure I'm not the only one who ended up with renewed commitment to take risks and go for it – even if I end up falling on my face once in a while.

    The brief “outtake” at the end was brilliant as well, as we got to see your sense of humor and feel uplifted by your contagious laughter.

    Well done! Oh – and I, for one, really like your hair. :)

  • http://topsy.com/trackback?url=http://www.beawesomeonline.com/forget-perfect-start-being-awesome Tweets that mention Forget perfect, start being awesome — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Fabeku Fatunmise, Andrew Lightheart, Willie Hewes, Karen Caterson, bornfamous and others. bornfamous said: RT @catherinecaine Forget perfect, start being awesome http://tinyurl.com/ya6t8e7 [...]

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The comment’s server IP (208.74.66.43) doesn’t match the comment’s URL host IP (74.112.128.10) and so is spam.

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Thanks for all of that Wendy. :) I'm planning version 2.0 and I think it will be less jumpy. And shorter, too.

    Don't forget to tell me about the risks you take!

  • http://twitter.com/CraftingSpirit Crafting Spirit

    Yep – via an awesome inspired post by the awesome Catherine Caine. lol

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Do you think I should change my title to Awesomeness Muse? :)

  • http://themakingroom.com/ Amy Sey

    Darn it, keep missing ya! I'm free on Thursday afternoon, does that work for you?

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    It might do, depending on the times. Go have a look at https://my.timedriver.com/82VBS and see if you can find a time that suits you.

  • Sandy

    Catherine, you have single-handedly given me a new and deeper appreciation of the word “awesome” and I think it will be with me whenever I use the word for the rest of my life. I'm serious! You're making ripples in the pond, girl…where will this idea go from here, I wonder? :)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    Oh Sandy, thank you very much. I think I've figured out my epitath. :)

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