Page 246 · Module 10, Lead Yourself First · this screen continues that page

All 108 frameworks
10.11AdvancedModule 10 · Lead Yourself First

Wabi-Sabi - Imperfect Progress

The prompt

Copy & paste ready
10.11Wabi-Sabi - Imperfect Progress
Act as a Wabi-Sabi philosophical advisor helping me move from perfectionism to purposeful imperfect action. What I am delaying : [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT SHIPPED, PUBLISHED, LAUNCHED, OR SHARED AND FOR HOW LONG] Why I am delaying : [YOUR REASON BE HONEST] What 'ready' looks like in my head : [THE STANDARD YOU ARE TRYING TO MEET BEFORE SHIPPING] Apply Wabi-Sabi: HONEST DIAGNOSIS : Is this perfectionism or legitimate quality concern? How do I tell the difference? IMPERFECT VERSION : What is the version I could ship this week — flawed but honest and real? COST OF WAITING : What am I not learning by not shipping? What feedback am I denying myself? BEAUTY IN PROCESS : What is genuinely good — even beautiful — about this unfinished, imperfect thing? COMMITMENT : What will I ship, post, or share by [DATE]? What does 'done enough' look like?
LabelsReplace these

LabelsReplace these

Pro tip, from the book

The most honest question Wabi-Sabi asks is: 'Who am I protecting by not shipping?' The answer is almost never the customer, it is yourself. From criticism, from comparison, from the discomfort of being judged on real work rather than potential work. Wabi-Sabi teaches that the courage to show imperfect work is itself a form of beauty. Ship it.

Who should run this prompt

Module role profile

Who should challenge how you are leading yourself? Self-leadership is the hardest kind because the subject and the observer are the same person. The roles on this page are designed to give you perspectives you cannot generate from inside your own thinking — the mentor who has already made your mistakes, the coach who sees your patterns more clearly than you do, and the critic who wants you to win. Use them when clarity matters most.

The roles below are who the book suggests running this prompt — this lesson’s prompt doesn’t open with a single swappable role clause, so pick one and adapt the prompt’s own wording yourself.

Internal rolesThink from inside the organisation
Seasoned CEO (30yr)Long game — what compounds and what drains over a careerDecisions that trade short-term gain for long-term cost
Chief of StaffProtecting time, energy, and focus from everything urgentDesigning your week, your boundaries, and your priorities
Leadership Development DirectorBuilding capability — not just solving today's problemIdentifying the skills and habits you need to grow into the next level
Therapist (professional context)Patterns, emotional intelligence, sustainable performanceWhen the same problem keeps recurring despite your best intentions
Sports Performance CoachEnergy, recovery, peak performance as a designed systemWhen performance is declining despite effort increasing
Habit Design SpecialistWhat behaviour architecture will make this stick?When you know what to do but keep not doing it
Outside perspectivesChallenge your blind spots
Executive CoachHonest mirror — what patterns are holding you back?When you feel stuck and cannot see why
Mentor (20 years ahead of you)What would they tell you that your peers will not?Major career, business, or life direction decisions
Stoic PhilosopherWhat is in your control? What are you wasting energy on?When anxiety, overload, or paralysis is affecting your decisions
Biographer (writing your story)How will this period read in the story of your career?When short-term pressure is pulling you away from who you want to be

◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist outside the organisation

How to make any role sharper

  1. Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
  2. Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
  3. Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
See also: 1.3 Role Prompting - The Expert Chair

How the framework works

From the printed page

Ship imperfect work. Build a beautiful, incomplete company. Move forward anyway.

Where the framework comes from

Japanese Zen Buddhist aesthetic — Wabi-Sabi philosophy · Applied to modern entrepreneurship

When this page changes, your copy of the book does not have to.

The book prints the framework. This page keeps it — and keeps the prompt current, because prompting technique moves faster than print does. When it moves, this page is rewritten and the code in your copy keeps pointing at it. No second edition, no replacement purchase, no account.

If something here looks wrong — a prompt that does not match its framework, a figure that reads oddly — tell Raphy. That correction reaches every printed copy at once.

Framework10.11 of 108
Printed onPages 245246
Prompt extracted18 Sept 2026
Costs to readNothing, no account

Copying is free. An account keeps them.

Nothing on this page is behind a login and nothing ever will be. Save any prompt to your own list, pick up on another device, and send a colleague a link with your name on it. No card, no trial, no paywall on the prompts themselves.

See how it works
Save this framework to your own list
Pick up where you left off on another device
Send a colleague a link with your name on it