#50: Imperfect Action: The Art of Moving Forward (Even When You Stumble)

In this episode of The Jeweler's View, metalsmith educator Courtney Gray discusses the concept of 'imperfect action' in a creative business. After 25 years in the industry, she shares the challenges of overcoming perfectionism and self-sabotage, emphasizing the importance of taking action even in imperfect circumstances. She shares a story from her community illustrating a jeweler’s struggle and eventual success through small, imperfect steps. Gray advocates focusing on rhythm over speed to avoid burnout and highlights that progress is often messy but necessary for growth.

Transcript

 Episode 50 – Imperfect Action: The Art of Moving Forward (Even When You Stumble)

[00:00:00]

Welcome to The Jeweler's View. I'm Courtney Gray, metalsmith educator and creative business strategist. After 25 years in the jewelry industry, running one of the country's top metalsmithing schools, coaching artists, advising companies and organizations, and hosting interviews with some of the best in the craft.

I finally created the kind of support I wish I'd had from the start. This podcast is a part of that. Each week I share the lessons I had to learn the hard way so you can build a rhythm that supports your creative work, your values, and the life and business you actually want. Find tools, coaching and my transform course@courtneygrayarts.com and let's get to work. 

Courtney Gray: Hey there, and welcome back to The Jewelers View. I'm Courtney Gray. this episode wraps up a three part series on the creative [00:01:00] cycle resistance flow, and now we're gonna talk about imperfect action.

If you've been following along, we started with the ways we stall and self-sabotage, then talked about how to let go and trust your intuition. Today we're talking about what comes next, taking action, staying in motion, and not losing yourself in the process. If there's one thing that I've learned from my own career and from mentoring it's this progress doesn't look perfect.

It's messy, it's unpredictable, and it's full of moments that test our patience and our sense of humor, but it's also where the real growth happens. I personally have always been an all or nothing person. Either I'm charging ahead at full speed or I'm in recharge mode. Rest, Thinking about the next big idea, that pattern worked for a long time.[00:02:00]

I could build things quickly or my energy into them and see results, but what it didn't leave room for was sustainability. When you run your creative life in sprints, you eventually burn out or start losing track of why you started. that's where imperfect action comes in.

Imperfect action is what happens when you stop waiting for ideal conditions. It's when you give yourself permission to move, even if the plan is not fully polished, the website not done yet, or the photos aren't quite perfected how you'd like them.

This is how I built both of my schools. This is how Transform was born, and honestly, how most meaningful things in my life have happened. Not from having everything lined up, but from saying, okay, I see it. Let's just start. One of my community members [00:03:00] shared something that perfectly captures what this looks like in real time.

She said, I'm allowing the smallest issues to sabotage my plans. Can you relate to this one? A couple of weeks ago, she met with a local artist group for the first time, everyone brought their work to share and she was the only jeweler there. She left totally inspired. She went home ready to apply to the gallery that sponsors the group.

The application was simple. Four photos. She took them, sat down to upload, and of course, tech issues. Wah wa don't. We love that. The files wouldn't upload. After all that momentum, . She hit this wall of frustration. She shut the laptop and didn't touch it for two weeks. Then just to top it off, one of her dogs grabbed a finished lapis pendant off the bench and chewed it up completely ruined.

She wrote that she was so [00:04:00] bummed and feeling defeated. She started doing every productive. Avoidance task that she could find, cleaning, organizing everything except creating or finishing that application. But she didn't stay stuck. She'd been meaning to order a Maker's Mark stamp for months.

She finally emailed the designer, paid the deposit, and got that process moving. That one small act of progress shifted her energy and a few days later she posted a follow-up and this is where it gets good. She said, I was procrastinating on my gallery application.

Well, I finally did it, still had photo issues, left a voicemail, and when they didn't call back within my 48 hour timeline, it was the weekend by the way. I hit send anyway. By Monday afternoon, she got an email inviting her not only to join the gallery, but to take part in their upcoming depot, district art [00:05:00] crawl.

She wrote, Self-Doubt is whispering. They just needed to fill gaps, but I'm slapping that troll to the curb. And of course, right after celebrating, she went into what she called panic mode. Shopping for new display items until she stopped herself at midnight and said, wait, maybe I should talk to them first and find out what they actually provide.

That's the process in a nutshell. Resistance action, a small win, a mini panic, and then self-awareness. That's progress. Hate to tell you that's the way it flows. That's what imperfect action looks like. You don't have to be fearless. You just have to keep coming back, keep showing up. If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll always be waiting.

So here's something that might help

keep your sense of humor. Creative business will test you. Deadlines, tech [00:06:00] issues, chewed up, jewelry, all of it. Laugh when you can. It keeps this work lighter. Focus on rhythm instead of speed. It's not about sprinting, it's about building a steady pulse of action so you don't burn out. That's sustainability.

And choose one priority at a time, as hard as it is with all the squirrels in the studio and those trolls. When you do a little bit consistently, like photographing one piece a day or reaching out to one gallery a week, it compounds. Allow yourself to pivot. The plan will change. That's not failure. That's life.

That's evolution. And celebrate the micro wins.

Every small follow through builds confidence and it builds routine. Just hitting send on an email can shift your entire trajectory. [00:07:00] Here's the thing. Resistance and perfectionism often show up together. We hold back because we don't want to stumble,

the stumbles are where you actually build skill, resilience, and clarity. Every artist you admire has a pile of half finished pieces, failed castings, broken bezels, and stories of things that went wrong. The difference between them and the ones who give up isn't talent.

It's that they kept going anyway.

And honestly, that is what Transform is all about. Helping you find the courage to act even when it's messy, because the truth is later is now my friend. If you've been thinking about starting or getting serious about your business, but putting it off sometimes for up to a decade, I've heard, maybe next time, maybe next year will be the year, maybe when things calm down.

I want you [00:08:00] to remember this story. There's never going to be a perfect moment the sooner you start. The sooner you take that imperfect, wobbly human step, the faster you'll find your rhythm and build the business that you've been living in your head for too long. You don't have to know it all. To begin, you just have to begin.

 so as you move through this week, notice where are you stalling because something. doesn't feel perfect yet, or you're not there. Ask yourself, what's one small thing I could do today, even if it's not ready?

Even if I don't feel ready? Imperfect action builds momentum. Momentum builds clarity, and clarity builds confidence. That is the cycle. Thanks for listening. You know, I'll see you next week on The Jeweler's View. Onward and Upward, my 

friend. Thanks for listening to The Jeweler's View. If today's episode gave you something to [00:09:00] think about, consider sending it to a friend or share it on social and tag me at Courtney Gray Arts. You'll find tools, coaching resources, and the transform course@courtneygrayarts.com. And if no one's told you this lately, remember you're not behind.

You're becoming exactly the kind of maker your business needs and that kind of depth. It takes time. I'll be back next week, same time, same tough love, onward and upward.