I had a client once who was so accomplished that the idea of starting a video blog as a beginner to that aspect of business paralyzed her. She couldn’t imagine herself starting from zero, so she talked about her idea repeatedly, without taking any action. 

I could feel her frustration – here was a perfectly brilliant person, who would do great if she would just trust herself and move forward step by step, but her perfectionism was debilitating and stressful. She was blocked by her own perception of “good enough” – because nothing was ever good enough. I worked with her to get her past this, and eventually, she was great on camera. 

But I made sure to bring this to her attention. I said “what do you like about my videos? Do you like when I’m being perfect and scripted, or do you like it when I’m being myself?”

The stuff that you criticize when you watch yourself back is often the stuff that other people will love and find charming. As a trained actress, when I first started talking to a camera alone in a room to create vlogs and online courses, it felt awkward. I was aiming to “get it right.” 

Then I had an epiphany – I realized that all my worries and concerns about looking good, sounding smart enough, and people liking me or my ideas resonating with them was about ME and that I would better serve my audience if I could focus on how I wanted to serve THEM. 

If I’m making a video for YOU, I want it to be about how much I believe in you, and I want to give you one tiny nugget of inspiration so that you can follow your goals and dreams – and when you get down to it, I know I’m more invested in that than my own perceived insecurities. 

Snap out of your perfectionism: If I focus on the difference I want to make, I end up in the flow of SERVICE. 

I want you to consider all the people that you can help when you choose to get out of your own way. 

Your standards and ideals of “perfect” don’t exist – those false notions just float between your ears, leaving you unavailable to help others the way you really want. 

The world needs your light more than ever – and it’s way more fun to be yourself than it is to doubt yourself. Trust me.