If I had a magic wand that could instantly turn you into the bravest, most focused, most brilliant version of yourself, I’d wave it in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand.

But I do have a newsletter.

So, this week begins a new experiment. Three tips, each week, super practical.

One tip to make you brave.

One tip to make you focused.

One tip to make you brilliant.

Brave Focused Brilliant.

I'd love to hear how you like this format. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts.

Now... let's go.

Brave Reject Obsessionism

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You should care about the quality of your work. In fact, it’s ok to be a bit of a perfectionist, because it means that you want things to be right. But, when your perfectionism becomes obsessive, it’s destructive.

It can evolve into obsessionism. Obsessionism is bad.

At a conference where we were both speaking, I once heard Craig Groeschel share a phrase that gave me permission to let go of my perfectionistic tendencies: GETMO.

Good. Enough. To. Move. On.

Sometimes we get lost in the details of our work to the point that we begin to experience diminishing return on our effort. Our drive for perfection becomes an obsession.

And truthfully, sometimes perfectionism is a form of cowardice. It’s an excuse to ignore all of your other responsibilities and simply bury yourself in one project.

In those moments, you need to be brave enough to let go and move on.

Good enough. Now, move on.

Focused Stop Making Beautifully Shaded Pennies

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Ed Catmull of Pixar once shared a story about how difficult prioritization can be inside of creative teams.

We all have “beautifully shaded pennies” in our work.

Things that we obsess over that really don’t have much impact in the grand scheme of a project. The problem is that spending too much time on those areas necessarily robs us of the mind space we need in order to think deeply about other important priorities.

And, there are elements of our work that do need to be obsessed over. The challenge creative work is learning to discern not only where we should focus, but also where we shouldn’t.

Brilliant Be Helpful, Not Perfect

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When I was in the midst of writing Die Empty, I reached an impasse. I was tens of thousands of words in, but I was afraid that the book wasn’t good enough.

I had a speaking event in New York, so I stopped by my editor’s office to discuss the project, and while we were chatting the Publisher, Adrian Zackheim, walked into the room.

Adrian is a legend in the book publishing world, having edited and published several of the most well-known business books of our lifetimes.

After asking what we were stuck on, and hearing my concerns that my advice wasn’t perfect enough, Adrian asked a pointed question:

“Are you trying to make a book that applies to everyone, all the time, in any situation?"

I responded that I wasn’t.

He said, “Great - then just focus on making something that’s useful for most people most of the time.”

That completely unblocked me. I realized that my aim is simply to be helpful, not perfect.

This Week:

• Reject obsessionism and be brave enough to say GETMO.
• Refuse to waste your focus on beautifully shaded pennies.
• Strive to be helpful, not perfect.

And, finally:

If you enjoyed this newsletter, my new book The Brave Habit is a practical guide to making brave decisions every day in your work. I hope you’ll read it. (You can download a few sample chapters here.)

Your turn to lead:

Do you know someone who might find this email helpful? Please forward it to them.

Todd Henry teaches leaders and teams how to be brave, focused, and brilliant. He is the author of seven books, and speaks internationally on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. ​TODDHENRY.COM​ ​​​​​

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