Stop Chasing Perfection
It Doesn't Have to be Perfect, It Just Has to Exist – Books, Creativity, and Perfectionism
Stop Chasing Perfection
Mar 19, 2026
Hello from the bipolar weather of Virginia – in the last two weeks we have had 80º days in the morning then snow storms in the evening followed by literal tornados at night... How lovely. If you are new here, welcome! I’m Jordan – the maniac wielding a camera everywhere I go and making sense of it all with this newsletter here, Lens of Life.
Time has been moving as it always seems to. The days have been flowing and somehow we are closing in on April… Sigh. In that stream of time gliding by I’ve been doing some reflecting, thinking on books, creativity, and perfectionism.
As someone who creates things (videos, newsletters, photos, and soon a book) there is always this perfectionist voice that tries to hijack whatever I’m creating. This voice that tells me it must be perfect. It must be the best of the best. It has to be a home run – that perpetual spiral of chasing perfection and never getting it quite there. I’m learning it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to exist.
It’s really a balance. Obviously, you don’t want to ship a turd. But instead, I’m finding a balance between quality and hitting publish. By creating and putting it out there (even if it’s not perfect), overtime your baseline of quality and taste improve the more you ship. The magic is found in just showing up and doing it again and again.
Capturing Imperfection
Nothing is perfect and nothing stays the same. Life is constantly moving and in flux – moments come, moments go. Let’s think about photography for a moment... Some of my most memorable photos I’ve ever created were captured in the spur of the moment, no planning, no staging, no posing – just life on display frozen in time. That rawness of the moment creates this deeper feeling of aliveness.
I carry my camera everywhere and my aim with photography (or anything I create) is to capture that fleeting essence. Documenting a slice of life that will soon vanish. Photography really is magic when I start to think about it – a way to freeze time and travel through it. Pretty cool if you ask me.
The camera I use is fully manual – no autofocus, no zoom, no AI subject detection – a very basic (but great) camera. It’s not perfect. Sometimes I miss the focus, under/overexpose, not have the “right” focal length but through all that, I find this weird creative peace. It’s taught me to just make do with what’s right in front of me and create even if it’s not perfect.
I’m learning that perfection lies in the imperfection. Whether a camera, a photo, a book, a video, an essay, a newsletter – nothing will ever be perfect. I’ve chased perfection for too long and it will only have you chasing your own tail.
Update on the Book
I’m working on my first book. A book dedicated to a wild journey across Earth backpacking with my camera. It was a journey spanning 9 months traveling to some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever witnessed. Hawaii, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. It was a lot but I’m so thankful for it all, thankful to make it back in one piece and write to you today.
I’m definitely still making sense of it all but a few weeks back I received a package. The first rough copy of the book. It’s not perfect but it exists. It’s filled with strictly images from the journey, some of which will make it in the final cut and some will not. It’s hard to describe the feeling of holding this book – a book that represents a wild chapter in my life. It feels… good.
Books embody this beautiful idea that enables someone to package an experience allowing others to live it. As would have you, I’ve been taking this book with me everywhere and ecstatically sharing it with the people around me. Sharing the images and telling the stories behind them. The overall feedback has been very positive so far. It’s sparked some interesting questions I would have never thought of.
That idea of a book was always in the back of my mind when I first set out on the journey backpacking the world. Photo books in particular have been a rabbit hole I’ve gone down in the last few years, books from Craig Mod, Vivian Maier, Fred Herzog, Garry Winogrand, Sebastião Salgado just to name a few. All these books have this beautiful way of teleporting you to another world – sometimes to a world that no longer exists.
This entire process of creating a book is pushing me and growing me in new ways. It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s a massive journey in of itself. I’m excited to continue sharing this journey with you and this is exactly where I’ll be sharing it – this newsletter. Truly thank you for reading, it’s been a crazy rollercoaster these last few months but I’m pumped for what’s around the corner.
Lastly, since we are talking about books, a book I cannot rave enough about is Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod. A book I actually just reread that massively inspired me – it might just be one of my favorite books of all time... I know it might sound cliche but a book can change your life and well, this was one of them. It’s a book that sits in a very unique lane (a lane I’m exploring with the book I’m working on). It bridges photography, life, philosophy, art, and lived experience all into one thing. Seriously, go check it out, it might just change your life.
Great read, Jordan! Looking forward to seeing the final product of the book. I also had no idea you were in the DC area, I’ll have to catch you at the next photo walk!
You are perfect 🖤😂☺️