Watching “Black Swan” the other night, I was captivated by the movie’s imagery, visual contrast, and character study. The film tells the modern day tale of Swan Lake and captures one dancer’s quest for perfection, as well as her subsequent descent into mental illness.
The film’s theme of destructive perfection resonated with me and echoed something I’m often saying in my own business and to my clients –DONE is better than PERFECT. In our own personal quests to fulfill our missions, it is easy to get caught up in making sure that every tiny detail is presented in just the right way. But at some point, you must let go and share your mission with the world.
This happens often with mission-driven organizations and your marketing. You think, our website isn’t perfect yet, so we can’t launch it. Or, this story needs to be edited just one more time, so I can’t post it on the blog yet. Or my newsletter doesn’t seem quite full yet, so I’ll wait until next month to send it out.
This kind of thinking can hold you back from spreading your message and ultimately supporting your mission. And everyone struggles with this perfaction obstacle from time to time. That’s why at DMD we’re committing to sharing our own message while also building systems and training modules to help you get the work done. When you feel supported in your marketing, you’ll be able to concentrate on getting your message out into the world, even if it is not perfect. The world needs your passion, not your perfection.
So take a lesson from the black swan. Embrace your passion and let go of your desire for perfection. You’ll free up your energy to do more of the work you are called to do.
In honor of this theme of Done not Perfect, I’ve included (at least) one typo in this blog post. See if you can find it and then leave us a comment below on how you plan to get your nonprofit organization’s message out right away.
