I love Ann Handley’s newsletters! Always thought-provoking and inspirational. This one especially resonated with me. As creative and gifted kids, we sometimes get the message that we shouldn’t do things if they can’t be perfect. But imperfection is where innovation is born! If you want to innovate in marketing, PR and other creative work, you can’t be afraid of imperfection or the “shame” of being less than perfect at every endeavor.

As the fabulous Brene Brown said in Daring Greatly, “When shame becomes a management style, engagement dies. When failure is not an option, we can forget about learning, creativity, and innovation.” I’m all about innovation and creativity, and after more decades than I like to admit, I’ve learned that they cannot co-exist with perfectionism. So let’s all be brave enough to suck at something new this summer!

P.S. Check out Ann’s book Everybody Writes! New edition coming this fall.

P.P.S. I had to take my own advice writing this blog because the trick to this new WordPress editor is a challenge for this old(ish) dog. So I’m doing something new and DEFINITELY sucking at it!

Brave Enough to Suck at Something New