I Need To Start

I need to start…

I’ve been putting things off for too long: getting into shape, working on a side project, writing…

I just need to start.

This is a very common routine for me: come up with an idea, get hyped on the idea, sell the idea to my friends, research for a few hours up until the point where I need to take my next step and then I don’t.

I get caught up with this idea of how it should be and realize that currently, I don’t have that skill set or capability to pursue it in that instance. So I put it off, optimistically thinking that one day I’ll be able to do it.

I do this too often. In fact, I’ve successfully not started over 7 businesses. Great ideas, that I still stand behind to this day. The only issue is that I never took them further than the ideation stage.

I need to start.

Take this blog for an example. I’ve never written on a consistent basis because I was fixated on finding the perfect theme to write about. It started with a side project, as it usually does. “Why don’t I write about my thoughts and the obstacles I’m facing as I try to start a small business?”

I started…kind of.

I wrote the first blog post, but I never posted it because I was afraid of criticism. I thought I was open to the concept of fast failure: getting things wrong quickly in order to adjust and improve faster.

I wasn’t. Not really at least.

A good friend of mine explained it to me. I’m not open to failure because I didn’t post it. As soon as I post something and make it available to the public, I’m also making it available for criticism. Because I’ve validated in my head that the idea is good, any real criticism pushing back on my belief could crush me. In that sense, I’m not open to true failure.

If I can’t fail, I can’t learn. If I’m not learning then I’m not really pursuing anything and I’m not ok with that.

It’s been 3 years since I’ve come back from Germany and now the words finally make sense.

“Don’t let perfect get in the way of better” — Eric Liedtke

I finally get it.

I just need to start.

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