What We Learned About Excellence, Mental Freedom, and Starting Now on 'Negotiation Secrets'
From Perfectionism to Action: Abubakr Sajith’s Deep Dive on Mastering Professional Standards with Dr. Gloria Esoimeme
If you are a regular listener of The Dollar Diaries, you know that our mission is simple: to explore the paths to professional success, learn from those who have built incredible careers, and share that knowledge straight to you. Our entire team is driven by a desire to learn, grow, and bring that expertise to our community. That is why we were incredibly honored—and yes, a little star-struck—to be invited onto Dr. Gloria Esoimeme’s highly esteemed Negotiation Secrets podcast.
For this special three-part feature, Dr. Gloria hosted three of us from The Dollar Diaries team: Gazala Parkar, Abubakr Sajith, and Anas Memon. Stepping into the guest chair instead of sitting in the host seat gave us a unique opportunity to reflect on our individual journeys and the shared principles that guide our work together. While Gazala focused on the power of calculated risk and sincerity, our discussion with Abubakr turned inward, focusing on the psychological negotiations we have with ourselves—the battle between starting and striving for an impossible standard.
Abubakr’s segment was a powerful examination of the mindset required to launch a project, sustain excellence, and free your mental energy from unproductive worry. He delivered a series of profound lessons on overcoming the fear of imperfection, prioritizing internal peace, and leveraging relationships as a career currency. These are the secrets we are bringing back home to The Dollar Diaries community.
The Dangerous Illusion of Perfectionism: Why You Must Start Now
In the professional world, the word “perfectionist” is often treated as a badge of honor. It suggests high standards, meticulous work, and a commitment to quality. However, Dr. Gloria and Abubakr spent significant time dismantling the idea that perfection is a realistic or even desirable goal. In fact, we realized that perfectionism is often the single biggest killer of innovation and progress.
Abubakr shared that he used to be a perfectionist, but he had to learn when it was time not to be perfect. This is a critical distinction. It is not about accepting sloppy work; it is about recognizing the difference between the paralyzing pursuit of perfection and the empowering commitment to excellence.
Dr. Gloria summed up the core argument with an unforgettable principle, one that has become a mantra for our team: You can improve on imperfection, but you can improve on nothing.
This realization is the key to unlocking action. If we had waited until The Dollar Diaries concept, sound quality, guest list, or marketing strategy was “perfect,” we would still be sitting on the idea. Nothing would have been recorded. No listeners would have tuned in. No conversations would have been had. Our podcast, like any successful venture, is an iterative process. We started with an imperfect framework, and every week, every episode, every piece of feedback allows us to improve on that imperfection.
This lesson is crucial for anyone with a dream project, a new business idea, or even a professional qualification they have been putting off. The moment you decide to pursue perfection is the moment you guarantee stagnation. The true negotiation here is with your inner critic: convince it that starting is the only way to get to excellent.
Mastering Mental Negotiation: The Art of Letting Go
Another fascinating and challenging discussion with Dr. Gloria centered on a form of internal negotiation that often drains professional energy: dwelling on conflict or perceived slights. We often find ourselves in a constant mental debate with a colleague, a boss, or a client, replaying a confrontation or worrying about a potential fallout.
Abubakr offered a powerful, no-nonsense principle for managing this emotional labor. He suggested that if you would not go and confront a person about an issue, then why spend a minute of your time thinking about it?
This is a profound strategy for mental freedom. It reclaims the enormous amount of energy we waste on hypothetical conflict and anxiety. If the issue is significant enough to warrant emotional turmoil, it is significant enough to warrant a calm, professional conversation. If it is not worth a conversation—if it is a minor frustration, a perceived slight, or something outside your control—then it is also not worth the mental tax.
This is the ultimate negotiation with your own stress. By adhering to this rule, you force yourself to either:
Take Action: Address the conflict directly and professionally, working towards a resolution.
Let Go: Consciously decide the issue is minor, dismiss it, and redirect your focus to productive work.
In a fast-paced environment like running a podcast and managing careers, our ability to prioritize our mental bandwidth is perhaps the most valuable asset we possess. This simple, logical rule is essential for maintaining focus and preventing small frustrations from becoming overwhelming distractions.
Professional Capital: The Power of Alignment and Relationships
Moving beyond the self-negotiation, Abubakr and Dr. Gloria discussed external professional relationships, particularly in the context of referrals and workplace dynamics. In our careers, we often encounter situations that could either benefit or harm us, and the ability to navigate them comes down to a clear assessment of alignment.
Abubakr spoke about the ethics of referrals, emphasizing the importance of a good relationship with the people you work with. He noted that if all the lines align—you have a good relationship with the people, it is a great place to work—then you would absolutely want to refer someone, knowing that person may get an opportunity.
This is not just about being a good colleague; it is about recognizing that relationships are a form of professional capital. Your ability to recommend a good employee, your willingness to cover for a team member, and your reliability within a project are all negotiations that build trust. When we talk about all the lines aligning, we are talking about transparency, shared values, and mutual respect.
This principle extends to every negotiation we undertake:
When dealing with clients or partners: We must ensure the business goals align. If a partnership does not align with The Dollar Diaries’ values, we do not pursue it, regardless of the financial incentive.
When working in a team: Our internal cohesion (as an eight-person team) is the result of aligning our individual motivations with the collective vision.
As Dr. Gloria noted, your network is not just a list of contacts; it is a carefully curated ecosystem of people who trust your judgment and character. Abubakr’s discussion underscored that the best way to negotiate a successful career is to be intentional about the people you connect with and the professional integrity you maintain.
The Dollar Diaries: Negotiating Our Shared Success
Bringing these powerful lessons full circle, the principles discussed by Abubakr, along with the insights from Gazala and Anas, are the very foundation of how we run The Dollar Diaries.
We are a team of eight young people, all around the same age, producing a major podcast that requires constant negotiation—of time, responsibilities, creative direction, and logistics. Our shared success is not accidental; it is the direct result of applying these negotiation secrets:
Excellence, Not Perfection: We launch, we iterate, we improve on the imperfection.
Sincerity: We show up and care about the work, which builds trust among ourselves and attracts high-caliber guests.
Prioritizing Focus: We choose our battles wisely and avoid getting bogged down in mental energy-draining, unconfrontable conflict.
Abubakr’s segment was a crucial reminder that the most significant negotiations are often the ones we have with ourselves. Our ability to overcome the fear of starting, to manage our mental energy, and to build relationships based on integrity directly translates into the success we have seen.
The Collective Call to Action: Improve on Imperfection
Our final words to Dr. Gloria’s audience, and now to our own, were simple and unanimous: The time to start is now, and the standard is excellence, not perfection.
Do not wait for certainty. Do not wait for the perfect moment. Take the advice from Abubakr: look in your life, identify where you are pursuing perfection, and replace it with a commitment to excellence. Get started on one project today, knowing that you can always improve on what you have created, but you can do nothing with an idea that remains unexecuted.
We are so grateful to Dr. Gloria Esoimeme for having the three of us—Gazala, Abubakr, and Anas—on Negotiation Secrets. The conversation was a powerful reminder that every professional secret starts with a principle, and every success story is built on the willingness to act, maintain integrity, and free your mind from the pursuit of an impossible ideal. Now get out there and start negotiating your next big win!