How do you become near-perfect in a non-perfect world?

That is a good (and indeed difficult) question and I might simplify this a little but as a general rule of thumb, you should do three things that will put you ahead of +98% of people out there guaranteed:

-Don't follow the crowd like a sheep and do what the masses (95-99% of people) are doing. You might be laughed at, ridiculed and even ostracized by some, but by not pursuing your own way (despite others opinions) and do what everyone else is doing, a life of mediocrity and scarcity is guaranteed.

-You have to dare taking risks and fail many times along the way before you reach any noteworthy progress. Because, by always playing things safe, you will learn very little and your progress will go very slow and definitely not put you ahead of the big masses. You might get blown out a few times but all you do is brush it off and continue forward. The most "perfect" people out there have been taking more huge risks and getting blown out more times than average Joe and hence the reason for why they have learned and progressed so fast.

-This might go into the first one but you read a lot of books that will help you develop as an individual. Because when you do, you will gain new perspectives on life, all of its problems/issues and how different people have handled it, plus it will expand your vocabulary and way of speaking/expressing yourself. By later applying their advice and practices into your daily life, you will find out what works and what doesn't.
The average person only reads a measly handful of books each year and they are usually all fiction or some other kind of relaxation reading. The most successful 1% of people (in almost every field) read a staggering 50+ books a year and that's another reason for why they stay ahead of the crowd. They simply put all of their free time into learning and acquiring new skills that will generate even more income in the future while the average person just slacks it away with stupid entertainment that brings them zero ROI.

 

The solution is not to participate. By the way i love the thing the guy above me wrote!

But i think you need to jump out the crowd.
Yeah, it's a non perfect world which seems perfect through what social media portrays,
the best way is to not participate in the rat race.
Right now everybody seems kinda perfect and everybody wants to look perfect of course. This became an industry and i, too sometimes want to be perfect but then i always have to remind me that it's not about becoming perfect but learning to live with your flaws. That way u can be truly authentic and of course help others. Promote your imperfections and keep on working on them. It's not about becoming perfect but about seeking discomfort and therefore seek growth.

 

Participating in social media (posting pictures and status-updates frequently), worrying about others and flatter the same people you indeed don't like is one of the fastest ways to become another sheep in the big crowd. No really successful and confident person would have the time or ego to sit on social media all day bragging about his achievements and performances since he already knows himself that he is doing well.
Hence, he sees no need to put himself out to seek the approval and praise of others. I do strongly despise people who are frequently on social media (unless its is about marketing and business related perhaps) posting all the uninteresting things they are doing. That only signals to me:

"Hey hey, I am here, look at me, look at how good I am and how good my life is. I just did this and feel so confident and great I do really need to show it off to everyone so they know".
Then, when you meet the same people in real life and notice how miserable and unsuccessful they are, you realize that social media is mostly a phony show off for those with big egos who continuously seek others' approval for their well-being and existence. As soon as that approval abates, they plunge into misery because they never ever considered to working with the world within them, only with the world outside of them.