Growth Instigators Hotline

#480 Paint: Endless tweaking

• Aaron Havens • Season 5 • Episode 480

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A can of paint can teach you everything about creative courage. We explore how the final brushstrokes—those endless tweaks that feel productive—quietly drain momentum and joy, and why choosing done over perfect is the most generous move you can make for your audience and your future self. If you’ve ever stalled in the last 5 percent, this message is your permission slip to ship.

We dig into the psychology behind perfectionism and how it hides as care, quality, and professionalism while masking fear of feedback and visibility. You’ll hear a practical lens for deciding when to stop, the difference between improving outcomes and soothing anxiety, and a simple cadence for moving from polish to publish. We draw on the “just ship it” ethos popularized by creators like Seth Godin, translating it into small, repeatable steps you can use today: define done, time-box the finish, seek targeted feedback, and release on schedule. Along the way, we challenge the myth that more tweaks equal better work and show how versioned learning compounds value faster than endless planning.

This short, focused episode is a rally for makers, leaders, and perfectionists who want real-world impact. You’ll walk away with a clear challenge: pick the project you’re sitting on and send it before fear gets a vote. And if you need a partner to push past the edge, I’m here to help you hit send with clarity and confidence. Subscribe, share this with someone who’s stuck in the final tweaks, and leave a review telling us what you shipped today.

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to message 480 of the Growth Instigators Hotline where we examine an everyday normal object and assign it a deeper meaning. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. What can paint remind us of today? Eventually, you have to put the brush down. Endless tweaking delays enjoyment. There's a moment when quote unquote done is better than quote unquote perfect. And by the way, I hate saying quote unquote. Seth Godin is a prolific writer that at some point a while ago wrote a booklet called Just Ship It or something like that. I think the name has changed now. And my takeaway from that writing has been a life-changing thing for me. When it comes to what we do, especially if we are a person that is a perfectionist, there comes a time when you just need to ship it. Put it out in the universe. Be okay with it not being perfect. I think we would all be embarrassed of how many fantastic ideas died on final inspection. The world never got to live the beauty of that thing because the creator of that thing killed the project in the last 5% of tweaking it. My friends, what are you working on? Kick butt, go hard, make it great, and then hit send or ship it before you chicken out or lose interest or tweak it to death. Endless tweaking could mean you miss the enjoyment. And we all miss the enjoyment of that beautiful thing. What are you working on? That maybe you need to just stop working on it and hit send. I bet 90% and out in the world is better than not perfect and sitting and dying on your shelf. If you need help hitting send or shipping that thing in your life or leadership, I can help. Your life is so valuable to just coast along is not an option. Sometimes we need another set of eyes or ears on something to help growth happen. Shoot me a text or send me an email at Aaron at Growth Instigators.com if that is you. Here's to shipping that thing today. Thank you for tuning in. You can listen to any of our past messages wherever you get your podcasts. Join us next week as we examine leadership lessons from a couch. Oh, that's gonna be a good one. See you next week.