I often say that the worst thing a person can do is find a good idea and not strive for a great idea.
Settling for good means you will never be better than good.
Years ago, I ran races around Connecticut modeled after the television show The Amazing Race. Teams of two raced around the state, competing in challenges, solving puzzles, and engaging in embarrassing behavior, all in the hope of being proclaimed A-Mattzing Race champions.
The people who competed in these races often asked me how I came up with such crazy, unique, interesting, and challenging ideas. I explained:
I design the race. I plan out all the stops and decide upon all the challenges. When it’s finished and the race is ready to go, I start all over again. I try to replace every challenge with an even better challenge. I assume that my first idea was not my best idea. It almost never is. I allow myself to think of the strangest, oddest, most incomprehensible things, because it is through this opening of the mind and willingness to not settle on something good that great ideas come.
I think this church sign says it well:
