The craftsman and the artist say, “Here, I made this.” The workingman is asked to follow instructions. - Seth Godin

Leo Babauta’s brilliant little book Zen Habits helps you think your way through this problem. His program is simple: Attempt to create only one significant work a year.

One of the talents of the [late] great Steve Jobs is that he [knew] how to design Medusa-like products. While every Macintosh model has had flaws (some more than others), most of them have has a sexiness and a design sensibility that has turned many consumers into instant converts. Macintosh owners upgrade far more often than most computer users for precisely this reason.” (p.98)

Art is never defect-free. Things that are remarkable never meet spec, because that would make them standardized, not worth talking about.