Just Start.
Posted on November 2020
When I suggest to people to get their projects off the ground now rather than later, some say "but I'm not ready - it's not perfect yet" I admit that's exactly what held me back. The fear that I wouldn't make a great first impression. But the longer I waited, the more I began tinkering with a good thing. I realized it was time to stop and 'put it out there'. The truth is you won't give anyone any impressions at all if you never get that project or business idea off the ground.
The point isn't to be perfect or ideal, but to be FASCINATING.
Nothing is rarely ever finished. And everything we do is finite, meaning it never stays the same or lasts forever.
Everything we do is constantly changing and evolving. You might say it's all dynamic because there's absolutely nothing static about today's world. So what are you waiting for? For circumstances to be ideal? We aren't fortune tellers to know when that is. Even though we might have control of our own projects, we have no idea what the world will serve up in the next day changing everything. There really is no point in waiting - so go ahead and launch. Keep building it as you go along. What you'll learn as a result of launching is far more useful and important than anything you do in isolation or incubation. Give it a pulse. Let others in on it and attract those early adopters.
I launched my self-published book. I could have kept on re-writing that book forever. The editing process makes you re-question everything. I finally flipped the switch and launched it. When I ordered my first copy for myself, it was like holding my new born baby for the first time - all those long and lonely endless days of writing. I started reading it with absolute delight. Until I found an error. A word was missing from a sentence. My heart sank. And then I found another. Suddenly that baby I was holding wasn't so cute anymore. And then I realized something. We're in the digital age. I can change it in real time - go back to my e-manuscript, make the corrections, and re-upload the updated version of my paperback on Amazon and have a perfectly new and improved book. No cost and no lag time. Up and running with a corrected version before the timer on my fitbit vibrated to tell me I'd been sitting too long and get moving.
We have to stop operating like it's 1985
A long time ago, publishing a book meant printing literally thousands upon thousands of books that you can't do anything about once those books are printed. Finding mistakes in those days was a big deal. Correcting them was expensive. Now, I can update, modify, edit, and even unpublish my book even though it's already 'out there'. Isn't that amazing? My website is still in its early stages and I can tell you there were two other versions before this one that never saw the light of day. I wasted years. For the longest time people would ask 'do you have a website' and my response would be 'yes, it's under construction!' Today, whether you're a one man or one woman show or a big corporation or whether you're selling merchandise, or a service or if you're an artist or musician - heck even if you're a job hunter - a website is mandatory!! It's your store, your stage, your headquarters, your command central, your calling card, your 'go-to' for all your propsects and customers, fans, subcribers, followers and future employers. Everyday, I now go to work on my website; improving, updating, blogging, managing leads, etc. That's what I refer to as 'operations' in the digital age.
Perfection is a cruel and unattainable goal we all need to let go of.
I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. At least I used to be until I realized just how hard that was. It caused me enormous grief. It stopped me from reaching for something I really wanted to do, but I didn't think I was good enough yet, or that my idea wasn't worthy of putting out there. I have let many opportunities and concepts die in its infancy as a result of the thinking that it had to be perfect first. These were my own self-imposed standards that became my limitations. And now that anyone can practically launch anything on their own without powerful gate-keepers standing in their way, there's no more excuses- other than the ones conjured up in our stinkin' heads. We are lucky to be living in these incredible times where small can be big. Where done can be undone. We get to launch our projects on our own terms. Musicians are no longer at the mercy of big label Record Producers. They can record on their own and be seen and heard by millions. The web is their recoring studio, distribution channel and world stage. Anything we do now, we can do it without the expensive roadblocks of long ago. We can have our own channel. We can add, enhance and make changes in 'real-time'. We can upload things and take them down. We finally have control.What we need to let go of is being perfect.
What we start with, rarely is what we end up with. The point is to jump. Start. Launch. Execute.Repeat. Lead the way and don't wait for done. Don't wait for perfect. Go live. Give it wings.Open your store, your business, launch your singing career, get that startup off the ground. Tie a balloon to your project and give it lift-off. Create as you go. Let others be part of building and shaping your incredible journey. Let it be a real, breathing thing... unfolding and evolving.
Put aside your fears and launch now. The only thing stopping you is you. Go ahead and give yourself the green light. You deserve it.
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good" -John Steinbeck