The secondary lesson here is, sometimes it's better to not try and force in an analogy to be cute. People start arguing about the analogy and miss the original point.
I think one paraphrase would be to push the limits, but not to the point where you're the problem or asshole, and to use what you have at the moment wisely instead of waiting for the perfect solution to show up.
I once had an accident at work that resulted in having my thumb nail ripped off completely. In addition to a few other injuries which healed after a few months, it took nearly 6 months to regrow my nail. During which time I learned having a finger nail helps give your finger "meat" something to press against, instead of literally trying to pick something up essentially with your bone.