Progress Over Perfection: What Homemade Pasta Taught Me About Learning
This weekend, I made homemade pasta—flour, eggs, and patience. It wasn’t perfect (the first batch was too thick, the next too thin), but each one got better.
My mom is Italian, and my dad’s Irish—so pasta and potatoes are in my DNA. Traveling the world inspired me to learn how to make bread and pasta. Bread? I’ve gotten pretty good. Pasta? Still very much progress over perfection.
Every time I make pasta, I turn my kitchen into a flour storm. My wife jokes it looks like I dropped the canister: flour on the counters, floors, walls—thankfully not the ceiling (yet). But every attempt is a little better: less mess, less cleanup, and noodles that taste closer to nonna’s.
Jim Kwik’s book Limitless teaches that mastery comes from small wins stacked over time. Pasta is the same: one egg, a little flour, knead, roll, repeat. It’s slow progression, but each attempt compounds.
In tech and in life, it’s the same lesson:
- You don’t master Azure AI in one sitting.
- You don’t become an expert after one project.
- You keep practicing, adjusting, improving—until it clicks.
Mastery is messy at first. But like pasta, each time you show up, it gets better: fewer mistakes, faster cleanup, and more satisfying results.
The Pasta Recipe (Progress in Action):
- 2 cups flour (all-purpose or “00”)
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- Pinch of salt
- Splash of olive oil (optional)
Steps:
Create a mound of flour and a well in the center.
Crack eggs into the well, add salt, and mix with a fork.
Pull flour in gradually until dough forms.
Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth.
Rest 30 minutes wrapped in plastic.
Roll out, cut noodles, boil 2–3 minutes.
Toss with sauce, enjoy (and clean up the flour storm).
Every time I cook pasta, it reminds me: progress beats perfection. A little less mess, a little better dough, one step closer to mastery.
What’s your “pasta”? A skill you’re practicing, one small win at a time?
#ProgressOverPerfection #LimitlessMindset #Learning #MichaelEarls #Microsoft #MicrosoftCopilot