Well, Dorothy may be tough, but I'll tell you an opponent that's much tougher. This opponent along with her ugly sister together kick the butts of more marketers than just about any other. Together, they have crumbled more entrepreneurs than any other opponents.

Perfection and Fear.

Both Perfection and her mean, ugly sister Fear looove to see us struggle.

We can usually wrestle with Fear because we recognize her as hurting us. But Perfection? Well, she's just simply trying to help us to do our best, right? WRONG! She's the sweet one with her phony little voice, always telling us that we can do better.

How many times have you said this about your unfinished projects?

“It's still not good enough. I have to keep working on it.”

Another month goes by and you're still trying to make it perfect. And, another month. And, another year.

Of course, we all know the translation is “I'll never be good enough”, right?

Guess what? It won't be perfect and neither will you, and that's OK! If I've told you once, I'll tell you a million times –

You do NOT have to be perfect to be profitable.

Why do you think I repeat it so much? Because I need to hear it, too!

Honestly, you know me by now and you know I do quite well online. Yet, I could do much much better if I could just get into a brawl in a bar with Perfection and kick her squirrelly butt.

I hope my coaching client doesn't mind, but here's what I wrote to him/her today. (Name is remaining anonymous unless that person chooses otherwise.)  Yes, I get a little snarky in my emails, but that's because this particular coaching client can handle it.

One thing you should know about me is that I forbid perfection. I don't want it to be perfect or I'll make you slop it up, so don't get your head in a bundle trying to get it perfect.

You will NOT disappoint me unless you try to be perfect and it causes your progress to stall. That I won't tolerate. So, get your head out of your butt and get it done.

So, there. Print this off if you need to and tape it to your monitor, stick it on your fridge, sew it into your underwear, or glue it to your rear view mirror in your car. Heck, do all of the above.

Just repeat after me –

You do NOT have to be perfect to be profitable.

What are the takeaways from this?

1. Get some support from people who understand. Honestly, it helps. I'm not going to plug one certain mastermind groups or anything. Just connect with people who get it. If you'd like a personal recommendation for your situation, you can find me through Twitter in the links above or by leaving a comment below.

2. Be accountable. If you can't be accountable to yourself, than find someone who will make you get it done.

3. Get a coach if you need someone to kick your butt. Tiger Woods has one. (Obviously he should have had a marriage coach, too.) Michael Jordan had a coach. All the greats have coaches.

4. Don't beat on yourself. It's hard enough to get the confidence to make mistakes and to build a business in the first place. You don't need someone punching you in the face the entire time.

Obviously, this is an emotional post, but I hope that it gives you permission to be imperfect AND be profitable. I'm going to go now before I get teary again.

Please leave your comments. I'll be back tomorrow to read them. And, thank YOU for sharing time during your day with me.

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. You do NOT have to be perfect to be profitable.

If you missed it, you can watch it here: Michael Jordan Failures.

Today, I'd like to share some more failures. These “failures” include Lucille Ball, Abraham Lincoln, and several other names that you may have heard of.

Here's the video. It's a little over a minute long, so I won't take much of your time.

I believe that failure is one of the keys to success. That's why I ask every guest on my Online Business Success Podcast the question “Have you ever made a mistake in your business?” You  know they all say “YES!”

If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough!

Fail BIG so you can WIN big, too.

((hugs)) and high-fives! Now get back to work.
Nicole

Today is about failure.

Watch this video and then tell me what you think.

Let's translate this to business.

You will fall on your face. If not, you're not trying hard enough.

In fact, if you listen to my Success Casts (free), one of the questions that I ask every successful online business owner is “What is one time you've fallen down and had to get back up?”

Pretty much every single one of them has said “I have to choose just one mistake?”

Scott Tousignant filed bankruptcy before starting his online business.

Shannon Cherry fell off a stage during a speech!

And, I've had busts. Big huge stinky disappointments, over the years I've been in business.

Failure is not an option. It's a guarantee.

So, fail fast and fail often. It shows you're in the game and you're giving your best!

((hugs))
Nicole