The trick is never in building the best possible implementation — the trick is in building the implementation that will provide the best possible future.
Guy English, Regarding Simplicity (via Buzz)
Guy’s argument is being made within the context of software development, but I believe is equally applicable to all work.
Restated somewhat differently: Abandon perfection for generativity. Perfection is without your grasp, but collective greatness is not. To do this, you must understand the interconnected, cumulative nature of your (and all) work and you must build with the specific intent of benefitting your future self (and posterity in general.)
