The first draft of anything is shit.
By Alliance
Summary
## Key takeaways - **Perfectionism is fear disguised as meticulousness**: The desire for meticulousness and the hope that it will make up for fear of failure is what holds you back. Perfectionism is simply fear in disguise. [00:07], [01:19] - **Obsessive iteration is the path to innovation**: James Dyson built 5,127 failed prototypes before landing on the first successful Dyson vacuum, demonstrating that each failure is an opportunity to test, iterate, and improve. [00:17] - **Embrace the 'shit' first draft for progress**: Hemingway's assertion that 'the first draft of anything is shit' highlights the importance of starting. Each draft, no matter how imperfect, leads to the next, eventually resulting in a polished final product. [00:35] - **Daily movement over polished output**: Julia Cameron's 'Artist Way' emphasizes writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness daily with no edits, a ritual that hardwires the principle of prioritizing movement and consistent action over perfection. [00:50] - **Scrappy beginnings can lead to massive success**: DoorDash started as a barebones site called Palo Alto Delivery, with founders listing their own phone numbers and delivering food themselves, proving that a scrappy start can evolve into a leading service. [01:03]
Topics Covered
- Embrace imperfection: The Dyson story.
- First drafts are meant to be bad.
- Daily ritual for momentum: Three pages.
- Scrappy beginnings fuel big success.
- Perfectionism is just fear in disguise.
Full Transcript
You know that feeling when you think one
more tweak, one last finishing touch
will finally make it ready? That's
exactly what's holding you back?
Perfectionism. The hope that
meticulousness will somehow make up for
the fear of failure. So, how do you
break free? Through obsessive iteration
and relentless momentum. Allow me to
explain. James Dyson built 5,127
failed prototypes of a bagless vacuum.
Each of those failures allowed him to
test and iterate, tweak the air flow,
adjust the shape, rethink the motor, and
eventually he landed on prototype 5,128,
the first Dyson vacuum. Hemingway said,
"The first draft of anything is shit."
And he's right. But that first draft
gets you to the second, the second to
the 10th, and eventually to something
that works. When you execute, you get
better regardless of the outcome. Every
rep, every shot, every push to
production, it's all practice. Julia
Cameron's book, The Artist Way, centers
on one daily ritual. Write three pages.
Stream of consciousness. No edits, just
motion. Thousands of people swear by it
because it hardwires a core principle.
Movement over perfection. The Door Dash
story reflects this, too. The founders
launched a barebones site called Palo
Alto Delivery, posted a few local menus,
listed their own phone numbers, and
delivered the food themselves. That
scrappy start became the biggest food
delivery service in the US. When you
move fast, you learn faster. Because at
the end of the day, perfectionism is
just fear in disguise. So start now and
polish later.
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