The Brilliance of Carelessness

by David@MoneyNing.com · 10 comments

I’m careless, but it was worth all the marks I lost in those Math tests during my school years.

Many of us come up with brilliant ideas all the time, but we stop ourselves from acting on them because we think it’s just not good enough. We want to perfect the blueprint first, but it often ends up failing because our master plan is forever gathering dust within our brain.

I hate to break it to you, because your idea probably isn’t perfect, and it’s probably not good enough. But so what? Start anyway. It’s not good enough… yet.

The Fallacy of Finding the Best

Many people take forever in their research in finding the best savings accounts or even which TV service to use. I can understand the desire to go with the best, but why wait if you already have a handful of “good enough” choices?

How does anyone know what to look for unless they have experience with a similar service? If you don’t already use an online savings account on a regular basis, how are you able to determine what “best” means for you? It’s not like you are stuck with the account forever if you don’t like it.

Just pick one that seems pretty good and start depositing. You can always pick a better one to use later.

It Works with Debt

You may want to start paying your debt ahead of schedule, but you don’t think you have enough extra savings to pull this off. Have you managed to save some spare change today? Throw that into a payment towards your debt. You may not be able to save $500 more, but those $5 and $8 payments will make a difference and may even motivate you to save a little more than usual. Who knows? It could even turn to that $500 you were dreaming about.

Just start. It’s not hard and it could become the perfect way to get rid of your debt.

It Could Help Entrepreneurs Too

I get quite a few emails asking for advices on starting some type of online venture. Those emails usually ends with a question asking whether I think it’s a good idea or not. My answer, almost always, is “Absolutely. Every plan is a good idea.”

Don’t get me wrong, because I’m not trying to be rude. But plans are just a start. The key to success is never how great the plan is to being with, but how great the product will become. We buy an Apple computer because we believe the current version fits our needs, not because their very first creation was a masterpiece.

If you have an idea on a possible side business, start building it right away. You may find that it’s more difficult to implement than you originally thought, but you could also strike it big. You won’t know until you try, so start today.

We use the best, want to be the best and try to find the best. Yet, nothing starts out perfectly. Be a little careless and just take action already. It might not be perfect, but it will be if you constantly try to make it just a little bit better.

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{ read the comments below or add one }

  • Shona says:

    Have added a link for your blog on my blog site, because your articles are always good reading, and offer a lot of good advice. Keep it up.

  • Shona says:

    Excellent article. There is very seldom, if ever, good enough reason for procrastination in life. If a lot of money is involved in the decidion, then fair enough. But many folk simply put off making decisions and doing things, simply because it is outside of their current comfort zone. Carelessness can cost a lot in life as well. If one is careless at their job, they could be dismissed from their job,which would then result in lack of income, so it is very seldom a good thing in life.

  • Ryan @ IQ Test says:

    Being careless is not the worst thing in the world. Well, it could be if you are completely careless, but if you care just a little then it is ok.

  • George says:

    DO it and stop thinking about it hasn’t been the easiest path for me, but it’s finally starting to kick in. Thanks for giving me a nudge in the right direction 🙂

  • Cedric says:

    Brilliant post. I’m careless too but there’s a certain danger in being too diligent with every action you take. Well said.

    • MoneyNing says:

      Being diligent is good, but as soon as it’s good enough, then the benefit of the last 10% is usually not worth the effort in most situations.

  • Phil says:

    Well said. If you wait to take a trip until you are guaranteed all lights will be green, you will never leave. Just act, and if you didn’t get the right result, try a different action.

  • Cd Phi says:

    I could see how this could also tie in with procrastination because the doubts in your mind and insecurities to start your great venture are put off and off and off until it completely just slips your mind. Now, that’s procrastination that can be deadly.

    Unfortunately, I must admit that I am one of the persons that you mentioned up above. Lately, I’ve been trying to find a good bank to invest in but I’ve just been lagging and doing “research” and it’s really just delaying me when I could be accruing interest as we speak.

    • MoneyNing says:

      If it’s just putting money in a savings account, then you should just pick one from the list that I constantly update because they are all good enough. If it’s investing in a bank (ie, buying stock), I think it’s better to be cautious than sorry later.

      I think it’s only those that has done the research but just keep putting it off that needs to get going.

  • 2 Cents@balancejunkie says:

    Thanks for the shove. This has been a perpetual problem for me. The “just do it” mantra doesn’t seem to stick for me. I am constantly over-planning and under-acting. But I’m working on it, and I found this post very encouraging. Thanks.

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