Be a Goldfish: Ted Lasso's Wisdom Meets the VFL Way

Be a Goldfish: Ted Lasso’s Wisdom Meets the VFL Way

Be a goldfish was not in my vernacular just yet! For about a year now, I’ve been teaching what I call the video for learning course. As I built the curriculum, I wanted to focus on offering some of my experience and background in teaching life skills to help people own the skill of making videos. this led me to develop the VFL way.

The VFL Way

Done is better than perfect
Meaning is more important than visual quality
Follow the process

Coach Chris meets Ted Lasso

I found Ted Lasso because people kept telling me to watch it. I didn’t even have AppleTV+ at the time, which is odd because I had almost every other streaming service. Perhaps it was because I was tall, had a mustache, and loved soccer. But I’d like to think it’s because people thought of me as Ted Lasso. Sure, it may have had something to do with what I was going through at the time, but I’d like to think that that was only the subtext. Friends would say, “You should watch it!” or “Have you seen Ted Lasso? You look like him?” It probably helped that I had returned to the soccer sidelines to coach U6 Saturday morning sprinkle doughnut soccer. Either way I was hooked!

Coach Laird (Beard) and I (Chris Karel – Ted)

The first part of my VFL way, is done is better than perfect. I want people to make videos with the intention of authenticity. if you can believe that done is better than perfect then you can make more videos without allowing fear and apprehension to get in the way. Ted lasso would say, “Be a goldfish!” In the show one of Ted’s players, Sam, comes to the sidelines and apologizes for his play. Ted responds, “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is?” Sam replies, “No.” Ted replies, “It’s a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory.” Sam looks confused and Ted owns the moment by saying, “Be a goldfish.”

The VFL way begins by owning the Done is better than perfect mantra, which is like a goldfish taking a selfie!

So if you’re going to make video to help people learn things you have to get comfortable with yourself on camera. The best way to do this is to practice, practice, practice, and own the mantra “done is better than perfect.”