Perfection

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. – Harriet Braiker

Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks. – Goethe

Nothing that is complete breathes. – Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. – John Henry Newman

To escape criticism — do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. – Elbert Hubbard

Sometimes… when you hold out for everything, you walk away with nothing. – From the television show Ally McBeal

Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny. – Carl Schurz, address, Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1859

The most difficult part of attaining perfection is finding something to do for an encore. – Author Unknown

There are no perfect men in this world, only perfect intentions. – Pen Densham, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Does “anal-retentive” have a hyphen? – Alison Bechdel, 1990 Dykes to Watch Out For Calendar (Thanks, Chelsea)

The human story does not always unfold like a mathematical calculation on the principle that two and two make four. Sometimes in life they make five or minus three; and sometimes the blackboard topples down in the middle of the sum and leaves the class in disorder and the pedagogue with a black eye. – Winston Churchill

He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition. – Charles Lamb

Even the best needles are not sharp at both ends. – Chinese Proverb

Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues. – Hugh Prather

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. – Antoine de Saint-ExupÃ©ry

I beat myself up every day, without so much as a scratch. – Terri Guillemets, “Perfectionism,” 1990

All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. – William Faulkner

A good garden may have some weeds. – Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. – Vince Lombardi

As any artist can tell you, it is easier to reach perfection than to stop there. – Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com