You have permission - 90% perfect & published
You have permission - 90% perfect & published
E86: Friends & Family IRL 3 - Marseilles & Aix de Provence, France
Where in the world is Karena? Today she is vacationing with friends in France. We are exploring the culture and cuisine of Le Vieux Port in Marseilles,
the architecture of Le Corbusier, and then eat our way through Aix de Provence. Just appreciating life.
See you again next week, Tribe Tilt. Till then, stay safe and healthy. From there all else becomes possible.
Karena
This week’s edition is set on auto-pilot:
You have permission: Don’t wait. Your work is ready to be shared with the world, ready to inspire others. This lightly re-purposed podcast episode was originally published on May 1, 2020 in the middle of high COVID and was inspired by a Seth Godin podcast.
90% perfectly published or 100% unsaid? Builds on this thought. Many of us keep word-smithing and honing our articles. What prevents us from hitting “PUBLISH”?
Do you remember the young high-schooler who designed a flexible tab to secure the blue masks? He 3D printed these and handed them out to local nurses and health care workers, making the masks infinitely more comfortable to use during their long covid shifts.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU KNEW YOU HAD PERMISSION TO DO IT?
Permission to speak up,
permission to make something better,
permission to be vulnerable,
permission to connect,
permission to care.
What would you do?
Because the punch line is you do. “You have permission.”
The world needs big bold dreams right now.
Insane ideas — that might actually work.
Permission to test and try, explore, and experiment has been given by all those in need. At peak Covid in May 2020 (when this episode was taped) these included:
Ideas for effective education solutions
Ideas on how to open up the economy while keeping everyone safe
Vaccines, detection tests, visors, ventilators, PPE
Mental health support for those in need
Food delivery
And a whole host of needs that I did not list — because you see things that are not on my radar.
The best idea can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.
So dream bold.
Dream big.
Speak up.
You have permission.
A version of this essay was previously published in May 2020 (during peak Covid) on https://karenadesouza.com, LinkedIn and Instagram. [As I revisit this list in the middle of April 2023, I notice that while the constraints may have changed, many concerns (education, economy, mental health, food etc) are persistent, particularly when viewed in the context of Climate.] Listen to the podcast episode:
Photo, audio & video credits: Headliner app, Canva, Simplecast, creator Karena de Souza
Better 90% perfect and published, over 100% unsaid
When will your article be ready enough for its debut?
We are a few weeks into Write of Passage Cohort 10. Imposter syndrome weighs equally on the seasoned and the novice writers. There is a tendency to keep word-smithing and honing our articles. Many of us are hitting the dip.
Item 9 on my most recent Feynman twelve exercise reads:
What happens if I die tomorrow? Have I done and said what needs to be done and said? Have I made my difference?
and it resulted in this interaction between
and myself:
Tag a friend who might enjoy reading this edition:
In the food and wine tradition of the South of France, this essay pairs well with another essay:
The best idea can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time. You have permission.
Thanks to and for improving this essay with their insights. See you next week.
Karena
Great edition, Karena. I agree with John, the travel content is awesome.
I love the idea of being happy with enough and shipping, rather than getting caught up on perfection and not sharing at all. We're all human and life happens, so if we want to be consistent as writers, we're going to have to show up some weeks where we're operating to 90% (or lower).
This was so good: "The best idea can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time."
Thanks for sharing! Your 90% still impresses me :)
Loving the travel content, Karena! Great tagline: "Better 90% perfect and published, over 100% unsaid". I tell my mentees something similar regarding incorporating feedback: feedback is important, but it shouldn't hold you back from publishing. That's a worse outcome than going ahead and posting something that's 'good enough' without feedback.