Starting something meaningful can be challenging. That’s why most people spend their time “getting ready” instead of doing what actually matters.
You tell yourself that you need more information, some good-quality equipment, set up the perfect system, or a bit more time. Only if you have these ready will you start. That’s what you think will make everything good.
Unfortunately, weeks go by, and you are left with nothing because you are still preparing.
It happened to me when I wanted to write my first e-book. I told myself that I wasn’t ready, even though I had written over 100 articles. I thought I still needed to improve. Well, guess what? There is always room for improvement, but that doesn’t mean we don’t do it.
Then, I wrote the e-book even though it wasn’t perfect. The outcome was so much more than what I had expected: the e-book got me over 500 email subscribers in less than a week.
I learned a crucial lesson: most people don’t stay stuck because they lack information. They remain stuck because “starting” exposes them. They are too afraid to show their true selves to the world.
Starting can lead to failure. You can be judged. You also realize that you are not as good as you thought.
But when you are “getting ready,” you don’t show your true potential. You can still believe that you could do great things if you started. That fantasy feels safer than risking reality.
Preparation becomes a form of procrastination when it has no deadline.
Learning isn’t bad. But, learning without action is. It shows that you fear failure and want to believe that you are actually good, even though you haven’t done anything yet.
My friend is a good example of this. Whenever we work on a project, he begins planning, organizing, and optimizing workflows. He creates charts and shares them with the team. He writes down his goals and thinks that’ll help us succeed. However, the truth is that preparing isn’t doing. Doing is doing.
When you take action, you produce results. When you plan to take action, you make nothing except a worthless plan that hasn’t been put into practice. It’s as simple as that.
I’m not saying that planning is bad. In fact, everybody should have a clear pathway towards a goal. However, the plan becomes worthless when you don’t act on it. Unfortunately, some people are only good at planning, not doing the work that matters.
Clarity comes after action, not before.
I remember telling myself that I would write once I had a better routine and felt more confident. I was also delusional about needing more time to get better. However, the real difference maker was the moment I finally published something. It wasn’t perfect and felt extremely uncomfortable.
But it gave me momentum. I started learning more from the mistakes I made and the failures I experienced. It’s the best way to improve at something.
Understand this: you don’t get ready and then start. You start, and then you get ready along the way.
You can never get better at something without trying and failing. It doesn’t matter if you read 100 books on swimming. The only way to learn to swim is to get in the water and move your arms and legs.
Start before you are ready.
If you wait for something to be ready before you start, you will never do it because readiness is something you earn by showing up consistently, even when you feel unprepared.
Most of us are stuck in the “getting ready” loop. Luckily, there is a way to get out of it. It’s by replacing planning with action — tiny, step-by-step ones that help you get ahead.
- Don’t: Learn how to start a blog.
- Do: Write 200 words today.
- Don’t: Research business ideas.
- Do: Message one potential customer.
Stop asking if you are ready. Instead, ask what’s the tiniest action you can take today. Everything changes when you shift from the “getting ready” phase to “taking tiny action.”
You don’t need a perfect plan. You don’t need fancy equipment. You don’t need more information.
You need friction. You need feedback. You need to start imperfectly and take one step at a time. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.
Remember: one step at a time.
Start imperfect. Start scared. Start with what you have.
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