If everything was perfect, would there be any soul left?

It seems we expect perfection from everything new these days, and if we don’t at first get perfection, there are masses out there ready to criticise. The thing is, rarely these “critics” would be willing to put their own work on the line. Some of us rush to install the latest version of a software, and then proceed to complain about it. Where the sensible ones of us wait for a while to let the bugs get sorted.

The new iPhone came out during the week. I like my iPhone, it has become an integral part of my productivity. But would I rush to buy a new one the day it comes out? No. I would wait for the diehards to put it to the test first. Let them expose the cracks and give Apple time to sort the things out.

We get angry about not getting a perfect product, but that goes with everything. Microsoft does not exactly have great reputation either, so let’s not only bash Apple here. In fact, I don’t think there is a tech company who have not been guilty of releasing a sub par product somewhere along the way.

But these are the companies that stand on the frontline of innovation and development. They have already changed the way we work and live our lives. If they had not taken some risks along the way, pushed the boundaries instead of playing it safe, we would not be where we are with the technology today.

And this is not only tech, it goes with everything. If we don’t push the boundaries, take risks and sometimes throw something out in the world that might still need some improvement, we will stop developing, improving and growing.

I think this is no different in art. If we play it safe, that’s exactly what the results will be, safe… We will not break any new ground and we won’t touch people in a meaningful way. And when we take those risks, when we release twelve singles instead of the traditional model of album, when we give away music for free and let the audience pay what they want, or support us in a different ways there always will be critics. And you should not worry about them. Success is not one giant leap. It is not you releasing an album that becomes an overnight success. It is hundreds, id not thousands of baby steps. It is one fan at the time, one song at the time. It is a journey.

Perfection is a good thing to aim for, but if we dismiss everything else than the perfect, we will dismiss a lot of great things. And what we are left with? If everything was perfect, would there be any soul left?

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE