How To Be Perfect

When I started my first office job they put me to work typing up address labels, working from a long mailing list and using a typewriter. This was very tedious, and due to the hassle involved in retyping or correcting errors, I was somewhat cavalier in letting certain mistakes slide, arguing to myself that "it'll get there."

When the finished labels were proofread by my co-worker Joylyn she returned them to me with cheery approval. "You did a good job," she said. "But it has to be perfect."

She then duly pointed out every single one of my "it'll get there" labels, which I retyped, and from then on I did perfect work.