Es una enorme desgracia no tener talento para hablar bien, ni la sabiduría necesaria para cerrar la boca.
~ Jean de La Bruyere
Lunar Letter / Imperfect Perfection
What is perfection?
Why do we seek it?
What is its attraction?
Doing a good job is noble.
“Doing something outstanding and making a difference is spectacular!”
Everyday we go out into the world in search of something.
Could it be happiness?
Perhaps it has something to do with:
Acknowledgment
Success
Money
Peace
We assume Perfection will somehow lead us to all these objectives. Nevertheless, perfection can be a double-edged sword. When we become obsessed with having everything “perfect” before taking action, we become stuck in the muck and the mud.
It is fine to want to do things well, yet “perfection” frequently leads us into a vicious cycle.
“If we never take action before something is ‘perfect,’ we will never have the opportunity to achieve that which we most desire.”
Let’s take a look at an example. I have an upcoming event where I want to make my second book available. Little by Little We Go Far is a compilation of my first 50 Lunar Letters. I’ll have a tremendous opportunity to offer my books in English and in Spanish to many people.
As I was working on converting the information from its original electronic format into a format suitable for publication, I realized each time I reviewed the information, there was always a way to “Perfect” it, a “better” way to express a thought or to reformat the text and pictures to enhance the book.
From this experience came the idea of imperfect perfection. While there is always a way to improve, there comes a time when we must accept things as they are and move forward!
The first edition is already available and, as I imagined, there are several little “horrors” which can be fixed. Not withstanding, I am extremely satisfied with the results.
Since it is the first edition, with a limited number of copies, of my first 50 Lunar Letters, it could very well become more valuable with time. My intention is to create at least 496 Lunar Letters. Possibly someday this first “special” edition, even with a few “horrors” could be worth millions! “Millions of what” I’m not certain, though I am confident it will have special value, albeit sentimental.
“Imperfect Perfection creates new roads which lead to new destinies.”
We can flow with the unknown and the imperfect the same way nature demonstrates imperfect perfection. A storm which causes destruction is a natural part of growth. Sometimes it’s necessary to destroy before we can create.
When we fail in an attempt to achieve something great, we learn one more way which doesn’t work and define further what needs to be done.
It is preferable to err while daring greatly than to achieve something ordinary.
Doing our very best, with what we have on hand, assures that regardless of occasional failure, we will be headed towards a worthy ideal. Happiness doesn’t come from doing something “perfect” rather from utilizing imperfect perfection to move steadily in the direction of our dreams.
It’s the Bounce that Counts!
∞ Rob McBride ∞
LL II 2
Lunar Letter / La Perfección Imperfecta
¿Que es la perfección?
¿Por qué la buscamos?
¿Cuál es su atractivo?
Hacer un buen trabajo es noble.
“¡Destacarse y marcar una diferencia positiva es espectacular!”
Día a día salimos al mundo en busca de algo.
¿Será la felicidad?
Podría ser que tiene algo que ver con:
El Reconocimiento
La Tranquilidad
El Dinero
El Éxito
Se supone que la perfección se dirige a estas cualidades. Aún así, la perfección puede ser un arma de doble filo. Cuando nos obsesionamos por tener todo perfecto antes de realizar una tarea, nos quedamos paralizados en el tiempo.
Es bueno querer y hacer las cosas bien. Sin embargo, la perfección frecuentemente se convierte en un ciclo vicioso.
Si nunca tomamos acción antes de tener algo perfecto, nunca tendremos la oportunidad de lograr lo que más deseamos.
Vamos a ver un ejemplo. Tengo un evento próximo donde me gustaría ofrecer mi segundo libro Poco a Poco Vamos Lejos (Little by Little We Go Far) que consiste en una recopilación de mis primeros 50 Lunar Letters. Tendré la oportunidad de ofrecerlo en inglés y en español a muchas personas.
Mientras modificaba el formato electrónico para ser publicado, me di cuenta que cada vez que revisaba el libro podía “perfeccionarlo” aún más. Siempre había una “mejor” forma de expresar una idea como también un ajuste en el formato o en las fotos que mejorara el libro.
De esta experiencia vino la idea de este Lunar Letter, la perfección imperfecta. Siempre existe la posibilidad de mejorar. Aún así, hay un momento en que tenemos que aceptar las cosas como son y tomar acción para llevarlas a cabo.
De hecho ya llegó la primera edición y como imaginaba, existen varios “horrores” que pueden ser corregidos. No obstante estoy sumamente satisfecho con los resultados. Es más, esta primera edición con una cantidad limitada de ejemplares, podría llegar a ser algo muy especial. Como se trata de la primera edición de mis primeros 50 Lunar Letters, espero que sea algo valioso con el pasar del tiempo. Mi intención es llegar a por lo menos 496 Lunar Letters y podría ser que algún día esta primera edición “especial” de los primeros 50 con sus “horrorcitos” ¡podría valer millones! Millones de que no estoy exactamente seguro, aunque tengo confianza que tendrán un valor especial aunque sea sentimental en un momento determinado.
La Perfección Imperfecta crea caminos que se dirigen a nuevos destinos.
Podemos fluir con lo desconocido e imperfecto de la misma manera que ocurre en la naturaleza. Una tormenta origina un caos que a pesar de causar destrucción viene siendo una parte natural del proceso de crecimiento. A veces hay que destruir para crear.
Cuando fracasamos en el intento de lograr algo grande, aprendemos una manera que no funciona, la cual define aún más lo que tenemos que hacer.
Es preferible errar en busca de un ideal que acertar en lo común.
Tomar la decisión de dar lo mejor de nosotros en cualquier momento de acuerdo a lo que tenemos a la mano asegura que a pesar de eventuales fracasos, estaremos encaminados hacia un fin noble. La felicidad no viene a través de hacer algo perfecto sino a través de movimientos constantes hacia nuestros sueños.
¡ Es el Rebote lo que nos Lleva al Tope !
∞ Rob McBride ∞
LL II 2
La Alegría
La alegría más grande el la inesperada.
~ Sófocles
Pensamientos Profundos…
Los pensamientos más profundos son aquellos que parecen tan sencillos que creemos todos haberlos pensado nosotros mismos.
~ Anónimo
Debilidad y Temor
La más peligrosa de todas las debilidades es el temor de parecer débil.
~ Benedetto Caetani Bonifacio
Ivolúcrame
Dime y lo olvido, enseñame y lo recuerdo, involúcrame y lo aprendo.
~ Benjamin Franklin
Lunar Letter / Reach out and Touch Someone
One of the strongest desires we all have is the desire for recognition. For each person who goes to bed hungry for food, there are thousands who go to bed hungry for acknowledgment. With the daily rush to get from here to there, we frequently forget how easy it is to make another happy.
We are taught from the time we are toddlers how to establish goals and objectives, as well as how we should work to become successful. We fill our heads with formulas and phrases which promise to be the Holy Grail which leads to a productive life. Normally, this knowledge leads us to an activity which to some extent provides sustenance and the basic necessities.
Unfortunately, in far too many cases we don’t show our youngsters how to be caring human beings. We are taught what to do though not how to do it. As if we are producing robots which come off an assembly line, our youngsters leave school and our homes with knowledge about the world in which we live and little about the importance of human relations.
If only I could change all this with a few lines in this newsletter!
I realize my limitations and those of others. As I roll through the ages of time in this wonderful journey we call life, I realize the importance of human contact. While time alone to reflect and think is important for all, so also is time to share with others.
After analyzing the desires of the participants in my conferences and workshops, I have come to the conclusion what we most desire, unless we are masochists, is happiness. While there are many ways to experience happiness, our strongest feelings generally manifest themselves when we share with others.
Think for a moment of all the people you have met in your life. Unless they have passed on to another reality which we will all one day discover, they are all doing something in this instant. A myriad of activities which may include eating, talking, reading, or perhaps even making love.
I have thought about how marvelous it would be to be able to connect with each of these people we know by a simple transmission of thought. While I’m convinced I have occasionally achieved this objective, I also realize we can connect instantaneously with virtually anybody any where in the world by simply reaching out and punching a few buttons on a telephone. As if by magic, we are immediately talking with someone regardless of their location.
With the invention of the computer and other means of “virtual” communication, we often forget it is just as easy to lift up a telephone and dial a few numbers to connect up close and personal with another human being. Whether it be with a phone call, a personal handwritten note, an e mail or a big bear hug, brighten the day of those you know. Reach out and touch the heart of someone today because you never know, tomorrow might be too late…
It’s the Bounce that Counts!
∞ Rob McBride ∞
LL II 1