Saturday evening, I went with friends to see Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza.
Clarity? You bet. Absolute clarity about what they want to accomplish. Absolute clarity about how they’re going to do it.
Focus? Well, if you’ve ever seen Cirque du Soleil perform, you know there’s focus. There has to be. Without it, the show would come to a screeching halt because all the performers would be injured.
Perfection? Nope!
There are way too many moving parts, way too many variables, way too many opportunities for things to go slightly differently every time.
That’s why they use live music, after all. The musicians watch what’s happening onstage, and adjust on the fly if something takes longer – or shorter – than usual, or if a performer misses an action and chooses to do it again.
They almost always get it right the second time – but the point is, they don’t always get it right the first time. Even after all the practice and all the performances, there are still imperfections in every show.
We watched someone fall from the high wire last night, missing the landing as he leaped over one of the other acrobats. He caught the wire with his hands, pulled himself back up, tried again – and nailed it.
My point is, you don’t have to wait for perfection when you’re striving for clarity and focus. Inspired action takes place without needing perfection.
In fact, I’d say that perfection is the enemy of inspiration. Because inspiration allows for the occasional fall as well as the flashes of brilliance.
What do you think?