You have everything you need to start

 

Dear creative,

You have everything you need to start.

Let me tell you a story.

Last year, I wanted to start blogging consistently.  I researched my blogging niche. I made lists of all the topics I wanted to discuss on my blog. I even “tested the market” to see if people in my network would be interested in the subject. Although my friends said “yes”,I still continued researching. I compiled websites and documents for days, and I still did more research.

It took me many months before I actually committed and started blogging regularly. So, I am sharing this story because I want you to know that you are not alone. We’ve all been there.  We know we need to start something, but for some reason we don’t.

Here’s what I discovered during my blogging research:

• I did not start because I thought I had to write a certain type of blog in order to find readers.
• I did not start because I was waiting for the “right time” to start my blog. There was always some work challenge that needed my attention first.
• I didn’t start because I had convinced myself that there was a “right time.”

There is no right time to start your creative career.

I realized that there is no right time.

Start now. Pick the next thing. Do you need to send an email? Do you have an email address? Send the email. Do you need to create a WordPress account? Do you have a working wifi connection? Do you have a computer? Create that account.Do you need to call that advisor to help you figure out how to get your company back on track? Call the advisor. Send them a text. Ask them to tell you when the best time is for them to talk.

I’m writing this because one of the things I’ve discovered that has made all the difference in my creative career is what David Kadavy calls “the heart to start.”

 

Can you give yourself permission to start?

Trusting your creative voice and giving yourself permission to start isn’t usually a question of resources. It’s often a conversation about creative confidence. Most of the tools I mentioned above are things many of us have.  You can go to a remote village in the far corners of the world and find a wifi connection, even it is somewhat weak.

Usually, we’re struggling to find the courage to start.

Usually, we’re struggling to find the courage to start, the willingness to put aside the fear of judgment, ridicule, the comments from the haters. And sometimes, like myself, we are more afraid of the greatness that could ensue. Someone could start reading your blog. Some of the comments could be cheering you on. Imagine that? Imagine how that would look and feel.

There’s a narrative that says you have to have it all figured out in order to move forward. I don’t know how it got started or who started it because it is very dangerous.

It does not account for the fact that most of us do not need to have everything figured out in order to do the next thing. And most of the time we can not see the thing after that if we don’t take one small step.

What if it all worked out?

And often, that one step becomes two steps and then there’s the ripple effect. For every action of ours, there’s a reaction. We fear the negative reactions, but what about the positive reactions? What about the person who needs your work, and lets you know just how much they need it in the comments section.

What about thinking about what could happen if it all worked out?

Conclusion

The word perfect (as a verb) means “to improve through making.”So, you can only get better at your craft if you just keep making. When we focus so much on the end result, we rob ourselves of what we might discover in the process. We rob ourselves of the true gift.

I did say that you have what you need to get started. But you might feel like you don’t have what you need to follow through. Guess what? You can’t know that yet. You won’t know that yet.

 

Just start. Then see what happens. You have everything you need.

 

I hope you keep going. I want to see your brilliance.

 

Love,

Your Future Self

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