Mastering the Mindset

Breaking Free from Perfectionism to Reach Your Peak Potential

Darius Dotch

We've all been there, waiting for the stars to align before taking action. But here's the truth: perfectionism is often just a mask for our fears—fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of not being good enough. And while it's natural to want things to be perfect, it's more important to take imperfect action and make progress. Remember, done is better than perfect. So stop waiting for the right moment and start taking action today!

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Speaker 1:

What's up everybody and thank you for listening to Mastering the Mindset. My name is Darius Dodge and I'm an actor, hip-hop artist and fitness and life coach. I'm here to personally help you train and improve your mindset so that you can, one, become the best version of yourself mentally and, two, gain focus and motivation to be able to take action and achieve the success in life that you want and deserve. Before we get started, please like and subscribe to my channel. And at the success in life that you want and deserve. Before we get started, please like and subscribe to my channel. And at the end of this episode, if you liked it, please share it with a friend or a loved one or someone who would benefit from hearing this message. I'm so glad you're here and I'm ready to go on this journey with you, and that journey begins now. All right, and welcome back to another, another episode. Thank y'all again. So much for being here. You must like what I gotta talk about, because you keep coming back and I appreciate that. If you are listening on youtube, please like and subscribe. If you're on a podcast platform, I would love it. If you can leave a review, also rate me, uh, and also make a donation. This is a donation driven podcast and all donations are greatly appreciated. It helps me keep this thing going. Again, I would appreciate it, but let's go ahead and jump into it. This should be a pretty quick episode.

Speaker 1:

Today, let's talk about why your perfectionism is ruining your productivity and destroying the dreams you want to create, and I have talked about this before on other episodes and I talked to you about how it's complete BS. And today let's talk about why your perfectionism is actually killing your productivity, and I have broken down why it's not real. How it's really. Just your fears your fears on how you think other people will think about what you do. It's a mask that you wear for all your fears. It's not about one. Whatever that thing is to be perfect is that you feel like you're not good enough. You're afraid that you're going to put your heart into something and put your heart out there for everybody to see and you're going to get rejected or embarrassed. So we label it as, yeah, I'm just a perfectionist, when in reality, we're just afraid of other people's opinions.

Speaker 1:

And the reason why your productivity is being killed by your perfectionism is because you're not starting. You're waiting for the moment to be perfect, as if the sky would just open up and the universe will lay everything out in front of you and say here you go, john, it's all in front of you. You are ready to start your business? No, that's not how it happens. God ain't finna come down and say hello, jane, you have been waiting on the right moment. Here it is Start your Etsy store, or whatever it is.

Speaker 1:

You're waiting to start, and what we do is we say oh, it's not the right time. Maybe I should wait until the kids get older. Oh, it's not the right time. I need to make sure I learn enough about it first. And we wait for that perfect moment and meanwhile, somebody else with way less talent and way less skill is getting further ahead than you are, because they just simply take the action Meanwhile you just sitting around on your hands, right?

Speaker 1:

You don't have to be a genius to be successful. You don't have to be amazing at what you do to be successful. And we've all seen those people, right Whether it's friends or folks on TV or social media, who are just way ahead of you, and you look at them like how in the hell did you get that successful? You're an idiot, right? We have to realize sometimes you don't need anything but the effort to go out there and work for it. Whatever success means for you whether it's money, career, happiness, love, a business, peace, kids, school, whatever it may mean to you, you have to work for it. And if you notice the people who are extremely, extremely successful, those folks that the whole world knows, they aren't necessarily great at a lot of things, most of them are just extremely talented at that one thing and they become obsessed with that one thing and they master it.

Speaker 1:

Let's take music, for example. Right, some folks just stand out, like Prince, for example. His work ethic was out of this world. How many stories have you heard about him calling people in the middle of the night to come to the studio to work on music? Because his brain was doing that beautiful thing that his brain does. And it didn't matter what time of the day or what time of the night, it was three, four in the morning. He was in a studio working. Look at Jimi Hendrix he was obsessed with that guitar and he would just play all day long. It was an obsession. And look at people like Kevin Hart and all his success. These people found something and they said this is what I'm in love with and this is what I want to do. And they got to work.

Speaker 1:

What is that thing that you're interested in, that thing that you know you want to dedicate your life to that thing. You've been waiting to start. You've been waiting to start or you've been waiting to finish. Every single second that you would listen to me is the perfect time. Every single second from now until the day you die is the perfect time. There is no golden moment. And here's the thing All you have to do is start, and what you don't do is strive for perfection. What you strive for is progress. Progress, not perfection. Just try and get better today. So what is it for you? If you want to start a business, you ain't going to be a great business owner until after you run your business.

Speaker 1:

When I first started out with my workout program, boy, let me tell you. If I can go back to when I first started with everything I know now because this version of me is way different my business will be so much better. I know so much more. I have so many more skills. I grew so much.

Speaker 1:

At first, I was typing up folks workouts and sending them, sending them to them. Then I started recording the workouts and demonstrating them individually, individually. So let me tell you what I mean. Let's say I sent you three workouts a week. I would set my camera up and do each workout for like 30 seconds to demonstrate, and then I do them one after another and record my voiceover Right Explaining what I was doing from the first exercise to the last one, one after another. So the video would be like five minutes long or whatever, and I did that for each client I had for each one. So if I have five clients, I was recording 15 and I was recording and editing 15 videos a week, which is stupid. Why didn't y'all tell me I was being stupid, my God? But I was so focused on just doing the work so focused that I did grow from it.

Speaker 1:

But now every client I have has their own Web page. On the Web page is all the workouts written up for the week and there's a tab for each day to click on. And instead of making individual videos for each individual person, I have a workout library. So what I did is I recorded every exercise I could ever potentially give somebody and I edited them with my voice and my music in the background and I made this exercise library and it's divided up by body parts. So there's a tab for abs, a tab for shoulders, for back, for biceps, all of them. So that way, if they ever come across exercise they've never done before or one day forgot how to do, they can just go to the exercise library and find it. And on top of that, I have my podcast embedded on their page so they can listen while they work out if they choose to, and I also have my music attached to it.

Speaker 1:

So growth, right. I have seen growth in my workout program. It's came a long way, and the thing is it ain't from reading more books or doing more research. It's putting in the work for me, going out and doing it, and that took time for me to get from there to here. And that's the same thing for anything else you may want to do. You have to just do it and strive for progress, not perfection. Get a little better every day.

Speaker 1:

Getting something done is way better than continuing to work on it until it's perfect. Done is better than perfect. Done is better than perfect. If it's 90 percent done, it's done. Let me say that again. If it's 90 percent done, it's done.

Speaker 1:

Let's say you're editing something to put on social media. Let's say in your mind it's about 90 percent done, but it's not like perfect, perfect Right, there are a few minor changes that you wish you could make, small things. And let's say it took you an hour to get to that 90 percent mark in your head. Getting it perfect might take another two hours because you're going to be that perfectionist that you are and you're going to pay attention to the smallest of small details to get it to 100 percent done. So now, instead of one hour, that's three hours. Which one is better? I would rather create one piece of content that took one hour and then add two more in the next two hours, versus only one in that same three hour span.

Speaker 1:

Done is better than perfect. That little extra 10% will take you a long time and, if we're being honest, for a lot of you that extra 10 percent will take you the rest of your life. For some of us, that extra 10 percent will take the rest of your life. How important is that 10 percent? And let's be honest, most of the time there is beauty in imperfections. That's with anything art, music, right, a business.

Speaker 1:

Look at Instagram. Instagram is one of the most used platforms and it still has all kinds of imperfections. Everybody gets frustrated with Instagram when they need to post stuff. It's the most non-user friendly app out there, in my opinion. It's so damn hard to post the way you want to. You literally have to do research. That ain't perfect, but it's one of the best ways to market yourself. But, again, it's not 100 percent perfect.

Speaker 1:

Just like it's not as important that you check off every single thing on your to do list as it is that you check off the most important three things for the day, that's way more important. That's what matters the most. Imagine if every day you completed the most important things, you got those things done. If every day you were working towards a goal, if every day you woke up you knew that, no matter what, you will get the most important things, those things that will get you closer to your goal and your dreams done. But by waiting for it to be perfect, striving for perfection and allowing yourself to be stagnant, the needle ain't moving. You stuck at zero, but at two miles per hour it's moving. At 30 miles per hour it's moving At 90, it's definitely moving. And as long as it's not at zero, it is a needle moving activity, and some activities we'll move the needle faster, some slower, but the most important thing is that it ain't sitting at zero. So what's the most important thing that needs to be done today? Make sure you get that done, no matter what, and I guarantee you will see progress. I promise you everything about bank account right now. Just do it and you write those things out and you work on them. You work on them one at a time and keep working until it gets done and then move to the next thing.

Speaker 1:

So again, do not let that perfectionism aka fear, your fear of other people's opinions having a feeling of waiting until the circumstance is perfect or just right. You need to take the action. Stop thinking and start doing. You can think and think and think and think, and think, and think and think. But what good is that going to do? You'll never be fully ready. And here's the thing. You don't even have to believe in yourself. You don't. You don't have to. You can take the action and still make progress.

Speaker 1:

You're going to mess up. That's part of it. Success is 99% failure. So eventually you just figure out what works, and that's a big part of procrastination, wanting to avoid messing up. No, you have to understand you will mess up at some point. So go ahead and just try it. If you get it right, cool, if not, also cool. You got that one out of the way. Now do it again, and now you know how to do it the right way.

Speaker 1:

So do not let the thought of what other people think stop you or slow you down. Nothing is perfect and you don't have to be. You are perfect in your imperfections. Incorrect action is better than no action at all. Incorrect action will uncover what needs to change in order to create correct action. Don't be afraid to mess up. Messing up is a tool and you recalibrate and you get things done and you do it again. So that's what I got for you today. Again, thank y'all so much. Please like and subscribe on YouTube. If you are listening on the podcast, please review and leave a, please rate me and leave a review and make a donation. Truly appreciate and need your donations and I know last week I wasn't able to give you new music, but I can this week and that's exactly how we're going to end this one with some new music. Again, like I always say, you all are very valued to me and whatever I have new or any announcements, you will get it first. So let's ride out.

Speaker 1:

You know, sometimes you got to remind yourself as you're climbing up to take a second and look down and see how far you came, enjoy the view and keep going. They telling me I got it. They tell me I'm the hottest. I don't even rap about money, drugs or violence. I be being honest, you know I'm still modest, but I think we the hottest and I feel like DJ Khaled nigga'm the hottest. I don't even rap about money, drugs or violence. I be being honest. You know I'm still modest, but I think we the hottest and I feel like DJ Khaled Nigga, we the best, nah, really, nigga, we the best, nah, really. You should see this mess.

Speaker 1:

Last night we had a party. You know that boy Mosley got it started. You know that boy Sapp was all about. I got me feeling like a pilot. She kept it first class and she sat by the pilot. I can't even front here. I told her I like the spirit and dealt her my phone number and now she be flying diamond and I'm feeling so excited because I'm going to get it popping.

Speaker 1:

They done, let me in the gutter. I'm feeling so accomplished. I'm feeling like I'm closer to my peak. Feel like I'm closer to my peak, but I feel like. I feel like I'm never home until I'm gone. Feel like when I'm alone I'm in my zone and I feel like. Feel like I really should pick up a phone. Sometimes I just need to be on my own. I need to call my daddy. I should call my auntie. Rip my mama. That ain't how she raised me. I work so damn hard. The competition looking lazy. I work so damn hard. The competition better chase me. Okay, let's get it started.

Speaker 1:

When it come to rap, it's like playing a game of tag. I'm on this mic yelling, not it. I can't be touched. They whisper criticism can't be much. They probably jealous because they can't keep up, mad because they can't be us. I wish somebody would say that. I wish somebody would say that's whack, because that go in the fire, get it. And speaking of fires, it's getting higher because I'm shooting for the stars. I got a lot of ammunition. I popped another clip in. I'm proud of what I'm spitting.

Speaker 1:

Took a lot of planning, went from hobby to fruition. They see me in the clouds and acknowledge that I'm gifted. Got me feeling like I'm closer to my peak. Yeah, feel like I'm closer to my peak. It ain't as easy as it look, but we gonna celebrate, pour my cup, cheers to being overlooked, to being overbooked, but won't give up because I got close, but I ain't close enough. It's time to hold my nuts, and I got coconuts.

Speaker 1:

I put my feelings on the page. They already read me like an open book. I should be endorsed by my feelings because I wear them on my sleeve. So take a look at me and tell me what you see, because I look in the mirror and I see a fucking tree started as a mustard seed. Oh yeah, and please excuse my long toast. I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast Not on Google Maps, but I know I'm getting close, I'm closer to my P. I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast Not on Google Maps, but I know I'm getting close. I'm closer to my P. Outro Music.