Perfectionism is lame. Perfectionism literally hobbles us.

Imagine a baby waiting to walk until they can do it perfectly.

Yet people put off doing things that are important to them because they want it to be perfect. They procrastinate on taking action on their dreams because they are waiting for the perfect time, to have the perfect amount of money, or to be perfect themselves.

In my line of work, I often hear people say, “Someday I’m going to write my novel. Someday I’m going to travel to Europe. Someday I’m going to (fill in the blank).”

Someday never comes.

They get busy being busy. They put off their dreams for another day, which becomes another year,  which becomes…never.

A lot of people don’t take action on their dreams because they don’t know how they will accomplish the whole enchilada, so they don’t even bother starting. That’s sad.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

You gotta start somewhere.

They also think they can do everything on their own.

Guess what? They can’t.

You know how many movies were made by one person? Well, I don’t know either, but I can tell you most movies are made by an endless number of people. Just watch the credits next time you’re in the movie theater.

How many important things have you ever done totally on your own? Exactly!

The chair you’re sitting on was built by someone else. The gluten-free bread in the sandwich you ate was baked and packaged by people you’ll never meet, which is kind of cool and creepy at the same time.

We are interconnected, interdependent.

So quit waiting to be perfect and stop trying to muscle through on your own.

Here are five steps that will get you out of the perfectionism trap and the procrastination zone and into action.

1. Get a mentor. Find someone who has done what you want to do or who knows how to coach you through the process. This could be a life coach or a teacher.

2. Take baby steps. Plot out the steps you need to take. You can’t do everything at once.

3. Create a Timeline. You need a game plan and you need to create a realistic timeline in which you will take the steps, whether it be to write the pages of your novel, or build your new business.

4. Get support. Find a group of supportive people, a community who is doing something similar. Don’t go it alone.

And you may have noticed that there’s no step 5. Wanna know why? Because you don’t need to be perfect and 4 is plenty of steps.