Anyway, I tell my son, “Hey, why don’t you go ahead and order something?” And what does he do? He leans in and whispers, “Can you order for me?”

I can’t help but laugh. “Sorry, buddy,” I reply. “If you can’t order your own drink, you’re out of luck.”

After a bit of back and forth, he finally steps up and places his order. But afterward, he’s puzzled. “What’s the big deal?” he asks. “Why couldn’t you just do it for me?”

That’s when the real conversation begins. I ask him what’s holding him back, and he spills the beans: fear of messing up, fear of not knowing the menu inside out. Sound familiar? Yep, classic perfectionist worries.

I try to ease his mind, reminding him that nobody’s keeping score if he flubs the order. But here’s the kicker: you’ll never get what you want if you’re too afraid to ask for it. Life’s all about taking those leaps, even if you stumble a few times along the way.

And that’s the lesson, right there. Trying. Embracing imperfection. It’s okay to miss the mark, to stumble, to make mistakes. In fact, it’s better that way. Imperfection is where the magic happens—the growth, the learning, the adventure.

So, to my friend who’s been sweating the small stuff and waiting for everything to be just right before taking the leap: take a page from Dutch Bros and just go for it. Embrace the imperfections, the hiccups, and the mishaps. They’re all part of the journey, and trust me, they make for some pretty great stories along the way.

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