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Perfection…a three year journey concluded on April 11th when I converted my book writing document into a pdf file. The physical message I said was that I am done and if I am done, the book is done. Reaching this milestone was the equivalent of scaling, struggling and climbing and getting to the top of the summit. There were times where I had to stop to rest so I could collect my thoughts. Going along, I had to take alternate paths that were not obvious and I was not sure where it would lead. During the entire three year process, there were times I did not write. There was one time where for eight months, I did not open the word document. The important point here though is that during the eight month period, it was not about abandoning the project. There was never a time where I said I would stop and walk away. If I commit to something, it is done. It might not be today, tomorrow or next year, but it is done.

I came to a crossroad in November 2012 when I was on my personal journey of Sam’s 50/50-2012 where I was looking to have the top 50 memories in 2012 for turning 50 years old in that year. I had to decide if I would push through and try to get the book out before December 31, 2012 so I could include it in my year long journey or hold off and go for quality. Fortunately, quality won out and I did not publish just for the sake of it. This book meant a lot to me and I wanted to make sure it was something worth sharing.

The flip side of this is that there is a danger that you look for perfection. You keep reviewing, removing and adding parts. The document was a fluid piece of work and you kept going up and down through the document. After 40 draft copies and 10 pdf’s, the final work was done. Sealing the document into a pdf was a challenge and reminded me of my Masters process, but it was also different. In my Masters, I had a set word count and kept specific to a topic. With the book, there was no word limit…where do you stop?!

Perfection is something to strive towards but be accepting that you can’t accomplish it. If you try to make it perfect, you may as well stop right there because it will never be published. You will always try to review, remove and add and get into a vicious cycle. I think all one can do is put forward an honest and authentic effort. I have tried to make my book an extension of me. It is certainly not a literary masterpiece but it is a Sam masterpiece. There is a balance that you must strike with yourself. Try to achieve towards perfection but be alright with what you put forward so that your passion project is accomplished. The book needed to be done. Will there be typos or things to be corrected, sure! I will hear about those. Will there be people who might think this book was not very good, sure! I consider the book to be representative of me. There will be imperfections (much like me) but I choose not to dwell on those. I will celebrate this triumph and focus on what is important – the milestone! Put a perfectionist’s effort to complete; however, accept that there will be imperfections. Now onwards to the book launch!

PS – 17 hours left on the Indiegogo – https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/discovering-the-extraordinary-in-the-ordinary/x/6383943 and tickets at Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/here-2-there-tickets-7147587627