Are You a Procrastinating Perfectionist?

I was recently in Los Angeles and had an interesting conversation with an accountant turned cab driver. I know your first thought is probably, what happened?  Why would a professional who was a top earner become a cab driver?

My driver’s name was Cornell, a bald, jolly guy in his mid-forties from upstate New York. He was a fascinating character. A man who has literally seen it all, from serving in the Army, to having a thriving accounting practice making high six figures. We talked for almost an hour during my ride to LAX. He told me that he loves California, and he loves driving a cab.  I thought to myself, really?

Well, he went on to explain that while driving a cab he is his own boss.  He sets his own hours. His income is totally up to him. What he was describing to me is freedom. He has what all of us strive to achieve. Freedom!

As we continued to discuss the metrics of his business he said something very interesting to me. Cornell told me he is a procrastinating perfectionist. He went on to state that he is so analytically inclined that he has a tough time getting things accomplished; paralysis of analysis, essentially. He told me that he is a loner and single because he always wants things to be perfect. Yet, he knows they never will be. He said he had aspirations of growing his livery business to a fleet of cars, but things haven’t come together yet. His self-awareness was interesting. He knew that procrastination was holding him back from achieving his goals and objectives.

Finally, as we got closer to LAX he told me he was happy. He told me he loved his line of work. He said the freedom he has is priceless. He said he truly only has one regret, he wished he had done it sooner.