973: Jessica Pettitt - Releasing the Pressure to Be Perfect

In this episode of The Self-Employed Life, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jessica Pettitt, author of Good Enough Now: How Doing the Best We Can with What We Have Is Better than Nothing. Jessica highlights the importance of accepting yourself  and finding balance between imperfections and growth. Our conversation delves into how releasing the pressure to be perfect can reduce stress and open the door to meaningful progress. This episode is a powerful reminder that progress often begins when we allow ourselves to simply do our best, even if it’s not perfect.

Perhaps it’s her Texas roots, but Jess Pettitt, MBA, M.Ed., CSP, believes that to really thrive in this world, you have to ride two horses—one of giving and one of receiving. For Jess, the giving horse is her passion for service, and the receiving horse is the high she rides entertaining audiences.

For almost 10 years, Jess rode one horse by day, serving as an administrator in student

affairs for university Diversity and Inclusion programs, and the other by night, performing

and hosting three times a week doing stand-up in New York City’s most popular comedy

clubs (ask her about George Carlin’s nickname for her or sharing an eggroll birthday cake with Bob Newhart).

Eventually, Jess discovered she could ride both horses at the same time in the same career, and a speaker in the DEI space was born. Now, nearly 20 years and half a million audience members later, Jess gallops from coast to coast delivering her “Good Enough Now” message to anyone willing to take the leap toward creating a much more inclusive (read: much more effective) organization.

If you’d like to discuss bringing in one of the funniest speakers you’ll ever hear to deliver

actionable content on everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Leadership and

Diversity but were afraid to ask, reach out to Jess today.

Guest Contact –

• .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}