Don’t overthink it. Perfection prevents progress.
Most people with a YouTube channel want their videos to be perfect. They want the camera quality to be amazing, the audio to be super crisp, and overall, they want their videos to be a perfect representation of their vision and skills. But here’s the problem: there’s no such thing as a perfect video. In fact, pursuing perfection often halts progress.
How many times have you had an idea in your head that never materializes because you keep retooling it, rewriting it, and trying to perfect it in your mind? The idea never gets executed because you’re too fixated on perfecting every little detail. You end up writing, rewriting, shooting, re-shooting, editing, re-editing—and ultimately, you never finish. You never make progress, and worse, you never publish anything.
Overthinking: The Enemy of Progress
Overthinking is one of the biggest barriers to progress, and I’m guilty of it, too. I’ll have an idea, start working on it, and halfway through, I’ll convince myself that it’s stupid and that no one will like it. Then, instead of finishing the video, I’ll abandon it and do something else—usually something unproductive, like eating ice cream.
But here’s the truth: you have to embrace imperfection. Every time you make a video, you’re learning. If you never finish anything, there’s nothing to learn from and nothing to improve upon. Your viewers appreciate your message, your effort, and your consistency. They care about your presence and personality far more than they’ll notice the little imperfections that might drive you nuts.
For example, my most popular video of the past year is probably my least favorite. It’s a video where I took my camera into Dick’s Sporting Goods and filmed myself in public. I don’t like that video—there are so many things I wish I had done differently. But that video is responsible for 35% of my traffic and 25% of my new subscribers over the past six or seven months. If I hadn’t posted that video because of its imperfections, I would have missed out on all that growth, and I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.
Done Is Better Than Perfect
You never know what’s going to catch on and resonate with others. The more you publish, the more likely it is that someone will find value in your content and keep coming back for more. One thing that helps me is setting a deadline for when I’m going to stop working on a video and just finish it. If someone were paying me to make a video for their business, they’d expect it to be done by a certain date. I need to treat myself like my own client.
So, if I tell myself I’m going to work on a video this weekend and be done by 5:00 PM on Sunday, I pace myself, make sure everything is done before that deadline, and if I finish early, I might tweak it a bit. But come 5:00 PM, I call it good, post it, and move on to the next thing.
Embrace Imperfection and Keep Moving Forward
As you approach creating content for your channel, try not to overthink things. Remember that perfection prevents progress—PPP, as I like to call it. A done video is better than a perfect video because a perfect video never gets done.
Your content doesn’t have to be flawless to be valuable. What matters most is that you keep creating, keep learning, and keep sharing your voice with the world. Don’t let the pursuit of perfection hold you back from making progress. Embrace the imperfections, publish your work, and let your audience connect with the authentic, imperfect you.