We entrepreneurs are a unique beed - we're driven, passionate, and hard-working, which often also leads us to be workaholics and perfectionists. Sounding familiar? Don't get me wrong, being a perfectionist has its advantages, but with it come a lot of inhibitions that ultimately end up holding us back. You let your fear of failure stop you from taking risks. Nothing is ever good enough, no matter how much you accomplish. You're constantly sweating the small stuff, and you somehow let one little mistake becomes a big comment on your own worth.

Give yourself a break! You are human! High expectations are good - afterall, your business should be shooting for the stars. But to deny or hide your flaws, to condemn your mistakes instead of learning from them - these are the things that will keep you from truly understanding and growing your business, and yourself.

In a blog post this week, "The Cure for Perfectionism", Eva Rykr suggests that instead of expecting perfection, aim for progress. The little steps will always get you closer to your goal, and ultimately leave you feeling more satisfied. I encourage you to try it!

I'll be the first to say it. I was a peculiar child growing up.

I was obsessive about office supplies, I cried when Full House went off the airwaves, and my absolute favorite color was shocking hot pink. That was the exact name by the Crayola company: shocking hot pink.

Not impressed? It doesn't end there.

For reasons only an experienced psychotherapist could explain, I constructed this fictitious image of perfection. As one example, I remember having a designated area in my dresser that was strictly reserved for my finest material possessions. Enclosed in this drawer were my Hello Kitty wallet, non-toxic nail polish that gave streaky coverage, leftover Halloween candy (8 months post Halloween day), and my most treasured outfit: a matching white t-shirt and shorts ensemble with hot pink hearts and white ribbon. It was like my favorite worlds colliding together in a fabulously coordinated outfit.

The kicker is that as much as I loved this outfit, at a certain point, I only allowed myself to wear it on specific days.

It started off as Wednesdays (logic being that Wednesdays were the mid-point of every week and thus, the most perfect day, as it was perfectly in the middle). And then it evolved into special occasions (think field day, Valentine's day, birthday).

But the story gets worse, humiliatingly enough. Eventually, I came to a point where I determined that June 30th was the most perfect day of the year and thus, the only suitable and deserving day to wear such a stunning outfit. My math may have been off but given that I had a thing about perfect middles (I wasn't a middle child, go figure), you get the point.

All this to say that as ridiculous as this pattern of behavior was, I can see how parts of this carried into my adulthood.

At the beginning of one of my business classes, the instructor gave us handouts that read that there was no such thing as a "perfect" assignment. She laid out expectations that assignments were to be submitted in a timely manner, regardless of whether it was "perfect" or not. Just get it done.

This, coupled with my struggles around life/work balance, triggered reflection around my work production.

Call it procrastination. Call it perfectionism. It may be both. But it is helpful to have context as to where it comes from.

There are so many times in my life where I've waited for the most perfect conditions. The perfect breakthroughs, the perfect family, the perfect body, the perfect job opportunity, the perfect bank account, the perfect kind of love- all of it.

But in the midst of waiting, what I've come to realize is that life is happening all around you. And if you're not doing anything but waiting, it just might pass you by.

The real lessons and breakthroughs, I've learned, are the in-between moments of failure and success. Life is the living that takes place between the high moments and low moments.

Successful entrepreneurs are those who can push past the self-doubt, overcome the perfectionism, and master the discipline of just getting it done.

Here's to growth, looking foolish, learning from foolish behavior, and making things happen.