Stop waiting until everything is perfect before you take action or share your thoughts. It is an admirable trait to want to do the best you can but there is a line where perfectionism turns into procrastination and where your obsession has an opportunity cost.

Improvements to any innovation or project are easier to come by through other people interacting with your work. Their user experience, insights and feedback are an essential part of the development process, by holding onto your ideas until you feel they are ready, you risk missing out on this key part of the development process.

The first time I tried my hand at stand-up comedy I was incredibly protective of my set in advance, not even letting anybody, even my young nieces, hear what I planned to say. It was alright on the night, but it certainly wasn’t as good as it could have been.

I learned my lesson and the next time out I took two good friends, Alan Stevens and Jeremy Nicholas, both humorous speakers and occasional stand-up comedians, out for a curry and ran through my set with them. They helped me to improve the material, cutting out flab and adding new jokes to build on what I already had, leading to a much tighter and more successful second attempt.
It still wasn’t perfect though – if it was you’d be lining up to buy tickets to see me at the O2 Arena! (And yes, that joke could be better too.)