The Magic Is in the Making

Stop Perfecting. Start Becoming.

Last week, I wrote about finally starting to film Well Hosted with Liz and deciding that I have what it takes.

This week, the show is out in the wild - check it out on YouTube!

And I feel proud. Emotional. Energized. Excited to film my next guest!

There is a part of me that wants to be frustrated that it took me more than a year after being laid off and starting Well Hosted to finally start filming the show I’ve been dreaming about for years.

Sometimes the dream is not delayed because we are lost. Sometimes we are still becoming the person who can hold it.

And WOW, does it feel incredible to create something this meaningful with guests who mean something to me.

As a perfectionist procrastinator, I have a real talent for making things more complicated in my head to avoid creating something that could fail.

I tell myself I am improving the idea but at some point, the idea does not need more polishing. It needs to meet the world.

For so long, I thought I could only release something if it was perfect.

But what even is perfect?

And why did I think my show had to arrive fully formed when I am still becoming, too?

Imperfect action is so much better than perfect thought.

Coming from corporate, especially from incredible companies with big teams and big budgets, it is easy to believe everything needs to be outsourced to an expert.

The filming. The editing. The production. The polish.

But who knows my vision better than me?

Instead of paying someone to film and edit the show, I invested in a better camera and microphones.

That investment has already paid for itself, not just in content, but in confidence.

Being the producer and editor of my own show is empowering.

It feels different from so much of the corporate work I have done because this time, my creativity and excellence are going into something with my name on it.

Editing does not feel like a chore.

It feels like hosting.

It is how I shape the conversation, honor the guest, craft the energy, and decide what the viewer gets to feel.

My first conversation with Alexa Juanita Jordan was so free-flowing that we had so much good material. For one segment alone, I took 45 minutes of conversation and edited it down to three.

And yes, that was hard!

Because it was all good!

But not everything needs to stay to make something meaningful.

Some edits make the magic easier to see.

And in the process, I started noticing how I could make the next one smoother. What I would ask differently. How I would structure the segment. Where I would leave more space. Where I would tighten.

That is when it hit me:

The perfection I was waiting for was never going to come before I started.

It comes from doing the thing, watching it back, making it better, and trying again.

The magic is in the making of the show and of the life I’ve dreamed about.

So I will leave you with this:

What are you still perfecting in your head that you might simply need to start?

Consider this your nudge.

Start the thing and let it be a work in progress.

Let it teach you who you are becoming.

See you back here next Sunday.

With gratitude,
Liz