A friend relayed a story about someone who recently was kicked out of a very prestigious architecture program:

He was good, but every time he got a criticism he would abandon the entire idea and start from scratch. All of his professors wanted him to refine his idea, but he couldn’t go along with just making one idea work.”

I’m certainly guilty of this: perfectionism to a fault resulting in not getting anything accomplished.  I’ve been trying to better understand my strengths and weaknesses.  From my Meyers-Briggs personality type analysis: (INTP for those keeping box score at home)

“They love to theorize and discuss abstractions… They naturally build complex theoretical systems to explain the realities they see.”

They find it difficult to actualize their ideas.

If they do not find a place where they can use their gifts and be appreciated for their contributions, they usually feel frustrated and may: become cynical and negative critics, be sarcastic and destructively critical, isolate themselves and put off action.

I’ve been trying to weed out the bullshit in my life and do exactly what it is that I want to. Mark Cuban reminded me there’s only one thing you can control: EFFORT.  And even though its the part I get the most enjoyment out of, the idea is nearly worthless in relation to its execution. That won’t stop me from constantly talking (and getting excited) about new ideas, but will hopefully remind me to focus more on their execution.

Now its in a blog, so I can focus on getting better at my execution skills and stop complaining.

Posted while listening to: Expresso 2222 by Gilberto Gil.

Related posts:

1. 2008 SXSW – In Praise of Elitism
2. Perfectionism
3. State of the Tyler Address.
4. i guess this makes me the politically correct one.
5. Recife to Salvador to Curitiba

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