“Good Enough”

I began reading Star Wars: Ahsoka last night. I’m 70 or so pages in and it’s great so far. And by “great” I mean that, if it keeps the quality up through the rest of the book, it will earn a place on my shelf next to my all-time favorite series: The Ranger’s Apprentice (John Flanagan). What struck me about Ahsoka wasn’t all of the Jedi awesomeness (there’s plenty of that, too), but the authenticity, especially in regards to how Ahsoka interprets the world around her.

One statement, in particular, stuck with me. While she was thinking about becoming a droid mechanic on this new planet, her thoughts were of how she wasn’t as good a mechanic as Anakin. No, she was “good enough” but not “prodigious.” And just being good enough, she found, was what most beings in the galaxy (outside of the Jedi) were at their professions. It took her some getting used to in every aspect of her life outside of The Jedi Order.

This concept, “good enough,” meshes quite well with my personal mandate to not let perfect become the enemy of great. She wasn’t doing that. In fact, she was open with her first customer about not knowing how to fix it, but trying to do her best. What a great lesson in humility. And even better, on the part of the customer, what a great lesson in not expecting other people to be perfect (I’m looking at you, person who yells at your barista to “get it right!”).

Every now and then, you read something in a book that speaks to your soul, that tells you it’s okay to not be okay. “Just do you and everything will work out,” this text seems to say to me. I dig that!

There are so many quality thoughts in this book. I’ve never read any of the author’s other works, but I’m keen to if this quality keeps up.

Again, major disclaimer, I have not finished the book (I haven’t even gotten to the inciting incident yet), but I’m (greatly) enjoying what I’ve read so far.

Want to read it with me?

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Flaws are Great and First Vlog Episode

Did you see my first Vlog post? It’s a follow up on the post I made here last week about letting perfect be the enemy of great. But I said something in it that I felt deserved its own post: “great things have flaws, and perfect things don’t exist.”

And that’s so true. How many things have we seen, from Batman to Fortune 500 companies, that are great, but highly flawed? Can you name the perfect piece of fiction? What about the perfect company? The fact of the matter is nothing that is great is without major flaws and nothing that is perfect actually exists (presently on this Earth, anyway).

Let’s throw away the concept of perfection, embrace and love those flaws that show our humanity, and just focus on making great stuff.

By the way, can you suggest a name for my new vlog? I’m thinking the message will be about second chances, following the activities of a creative producer (likely with quite a few behind the scenes reveals of things like future Jadepunk and Shadowcraft releases).

Letting Perfect Be the Enemy of Great

I’m going to tell you something you already know, but that has been a secret to me for years now: I’m not perfect, and I don’t need to pretend to be. I’ve been struggling against perfectionism for too long, letting “perfect” be the enemy of “great”. But here comes change.

When I first released Jadepunk with Jacob Possin, I was applauded for my efforts in doing so. People said they liked communicating with me online, because even if we disagreed about some things, I was honest about who I was – open and vulnerable. But in the last few years, I’ve lost a lot of friends, and fans, on social media (and in real life). I can cite some reasons, but here are the main three:

1. After launching Reroll Productions, I put on this facade of being the perfect-little-CEO of a company that was just a couple of people making cool stuff. Fake as hell, and everybody knew it.
2. I adopted causes and political stances that meant something to people around me, but that didn’t line up with my beliefs; I checked the boxes that other people set up for my life.
3. Some people are just jerks (me included).

I can’t control that last one (and, to be sure, a lot of complaints made against me were valid as hell), but I can control the first two. And it will be easy to fix, as it all boils down to one big issue: trying to please everybody.

Wanting to please everyone, thinking that anything with a flaw in it is not worthy of the ‘mob approval’ that I was seeking, has prevented me from releasing games, fiction, and a huge number of other things that I’ve had sitting on the backburner for fear that people will judge it and find it wanting.

Screw that!

I make some pretty great shit! Will everybody like all of my work? No. Will some people like all of my work? There may be two or three people out there who think I’m always on point (I would question their taste, however). But a lot of people will (and do) like something about my work. And it’s long overdue that pleasing some of the people some of the time is good enough for me.

This somewhat ranty post could about letting yourself be great without the need to be perfect, but that’s not only ranty (at least how I’ve presented it so far), but presumptuous.

But that’s not what this is really about. This post is a declaration to my readers, and to myself, that I’m not going to pretend, or even try, to be perfect any longer. I’m not going to let perfection be my enemy any longer. I’m going to be unapologetically me. I’m going to release imperfect (but as professional as possible) work. And it’s going to be great!

Does anyone else suffer from overplanning? Does anyone else feel like if everyone doesn’t like your work, then it isn’t good enough? Leave me a comment and let me know that I’m not alone.

Not Taking Anything For Granted

Have you ever taken something, or someone, for granted? I’ve been on this kick of trying to live in every moment – ever since a rewatch of The Last Samurai (“life in every breath”). After something that I consider to be deep passes, I stop and ask myself “what have I gained from this moment?”

Now, I don’t mean a material gain; it’s not a method of looking at people or things with eyes for what I can get from them. I’m talking about looking back on an event I felt was important and trying to find its place in my life. Can I take something away from this? Did I conduct myself in a manner that lines up with my beliefs? Did I make the right decisions?

I’ll be frank; I typically ask these questions of myself after an episode of The Flash or The Originals (the answers from the latter are interesting; there’s a lot to take away from that show). But sometimes they’re moments that mean something on a more personal level. Take yesterday for instance.

But first…

Some Backstory

Five years ago my sifu (that’s Chinese for skillful person or master) moved back to his homeland of Spain. Before then I had trained under him for nine years in numerous martial arts (Jeet Kune Do, Kali/Escrima, Tai Chi Chuan, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kyusho Jitsu…he’s traveled the world collecting martial arts styles and has no qualms about passing on his wealth of knowledge; and I was a sponge). But during the last year or two of my training, I wasn’t all that dedicated.

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be opening a martial arts school and lost sight of the value of the instruction I was receiving. But before my sifu left, he certified me as a Jeet Kune Do instructor because he felt that I had earned it; that I understood his lessons and could pass them along to future generations.

But once he left, and the bug to train bit me again, the quality of instruction I had under him couldn’t be found in my city anymore. And the personal relationships I built with other instructors did not have the same closeness. Not only had a great teacher moved away, but a great friend, as well.

Yesterday…

I had the privilege to sit with my sifu, Joaquim Almeria, and talk. It was likely to be his last visit to Las Vegas – he has no other connections here except students who like to reminisce through long-winded blog and Facebook posts.

As with all of our conversations, I gained instruction and wisdom, but we also talked as friends. I learned more about his home; he learned how things have been here. It was a great couple of hours.

He reminded me of how much I had taken for granted before he left and how important it is to live in the moment and not in a distant dreamland of “some day…”

What about you? Are there things you have taken for granted? Do you have any tricks for living in the moment?

Geek Chic: It Hurts to be Different

A Facebook friend posted this video. It speaks to geek culture and how, even though it’s become popular for “geek to be chic,” we can still feel alone in the mainstream crowd.

I have to agree with her about the X-Men comments. They’re some of my favorite comic book movies, not because they nailed the X-Men from the comics (they couldn’t be more off, in my opinion). I like the X-flicks because they’re about something that we go through every day. As much as I enjoy watching heroes fight off alien invasions, it doesn’t relate to my experience like being seen as a mutant does. (We’ve all felt that way…it’s not just me, right?)

That said, 3.5 being the best D&D…we’re going to have to agree to disagree. (*cough* 5e *cough*)

What about you? Do you feel alone in a crowd because of your geekiness?

Enjoy the video, and don’t forget to subscribe to Mayim Bialik’s channel.

On Journaling

I began journaling today. Nothing fancy (actually, I bought a $20 journal with a $12 calligraphy pen to do it right – they’re the ones in the photo above). But am I doing it right?

To be honest, I only began the journaling process because I saw this picture on Facebook.

I don’t put much stock in any Facebook post that suggests how one might be more successful, but since the lowest points in my life matched up with the picture on the left, why not? (I’ve already cut out hours and hours of television.) So…

…successful people journal. I want to be a successful person. Ergo, I am now journaling.

I read an article on journaling by Steve Pavlina that was pretty enlightening on the subject, but I’m left wondering if it wasn’t just one perspective on the subject.

Here’s why I decided to journal:

• To be more successful (duh!)
• To clarify my thoughts
• To solve problems I’m dealing with (this actually happened in my very first entry)
• As a record for my life
• To keep myself honest with my goals (and to record those goals)
• To look awesome at my writing desk, or the local café, writing in my big, expensive journal with my difficult to use (and equally expensive) new pen.

I’ll admit that some of those reasons are facetious, but that doesn’t make them any less true.

Do you journal? Have any advice for me and my readers on the subject? Let us know in the comments below.