The P ublisher Po stulates
BETTER DONE THAN PERFECT
By Aaron R. Fodiman
for perfection.
I have discovered that one need not wait
for perfection in life before commencing
projects. As a matter of course, I try to do
the best I can at one sitting, then review
my work a few days later to give my mood
a chance to change as my mind reflects
on it, and then I let go and move on to
another subject. This not only lets me be
more productive, but also allows me the
opportunity to get feedback from others,
which helps me do a better job in the future,
or even learn what not to do again.
I have developed the philosophy of
starting a project with the intent of having
it completed, even if flawed, and then to
do it again perfecting it with those things
34 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
I learned from my first effort.
I recognize I may never get it
“perfect,” no matter how many
times I may try. However, the
more times I pursue my goals,
the better I get at it. My goal is
to complete a task rather than
to do it perfectly. Perfection
has too many variables and
perspectives, and I am not a
believer that anything is ever
perfect. There is bound to be
something that was missed
or flawed within any effort.
The most fatal flaw is not
moving the work along due
to constant tweaking and fiddling in an
effort to achieve this nonexistent concept
of perfection.
In reading this column, you may
have noticed errors, flaws and mistakes;
however, you read it anyway, and I have
conveyed my thoughts. I certainly did
not express myself perfectly, but you
got the message, and I am off to another
assignment, which I will also not do
perfectly, but it will get done. 9
Aperfectionist I am
not. I make no
apologies for this,
since I have found
doing something even if it is
not perfect is the best way to
move toward perfection, if
there is in reality such a thing.
By definition, “perfection” is
being complete in all respects
without defect or omission
– to be flawless. To me,
perfection is “success,” which
does not require everything
You may not see this work as perfect, yet the artist considered it done
to be perfect. However, it is
and complete. I love it as is.
impossible to have success
without doing something. As in the Taoist
text Tao Te Ching, “Every journey begins
with a single step.” This creates movement,
even if the step is in the wrong direction,
too late, or too early. Once the step is taken,
the journey has begun.
Many people get bogged down seeking
perfection. As a writer, one of my most
difficult decisions is how to know when an
article is finished. Likewise, as an attorney,
when writing a brief to support a motion, I
had the tendency to alter, correct, expand,
solidify and otherwise revise my words
until the last possible minute, which is
why the law has time limitations for filing
such things. Otherwise, the work might
never have been completed while I strove Publisher / Editor