Just start already!
What a corny title. I really could not think of anything else, but as this article will show you, I’m learning that sometimes, the first step to inspiration is the decision to start.
I have a fairly new friend. More like I admire her a lot from afar and we recently started to have conversations. Anyway this friend of mine one day said
“If you don’t write, you’re not a writer. It doesn’t matter how often you think about writing, or how well you think you could write. A writer writes.”
She didn’t say it this exact way but that was the general gist. In her next point she spoke about how someone who had failed at one e.g writing project was still more of a writer than someone who had done none.
This is one of the most important lessons I have learnt in my life. To just get off my butt, and start working towards whatever I want to achieve.
I do some work for some organizations and very often, I get texts and messages from people who would like to access certain opportunities, be thought leaders in their fields, etc. While I have met some highly motivated and skilled people this way, I have also realized that some people want to be these things, without having ever done any work in the fields they are interested in.
You may have taken online courses. Or attended one or two webinars on the subject and become fired up about it. You may even go as far as becoming a chronic webinar watcher, course taker and conference attender. These things are not bad. However, attending a medical conference doesn’t make you a doctor for example, practicing medicine does.
The stuff you dream about becoming and achieving, what have you done about it? Have you started anything at all along that path? Have you actually started doing it? In your own small space or using whatever platform you can find? You would like to work in social development. Great dream. However, have you ever volunteered long term for any local organization? Or led some community projects of your own? You would like to be a script writer/movie producer? How many even crappy plays have you written for your local church or school?
One of my favourite pieces of advice to people and to myself is to just start. Start small. Start in your own capacity. Start in the little places that you find yourself. Start, do a crappy job, learn and try again. It’s cool to do your courses, attend your events/conferences or whatever. But the truth remains that, the only way to acquire skill is by putting all the knowledge to use and actually doing it. Learning or talking about it is not enough.
With skill comes better opportunities, and with those two combined, you actually have a shot at the those lofty dreams. If you wait for a big break or big opportunity, it just may never drop in your lap. However, I have found that the more you do, the more you have the opportunity to do more. If you have completed one project, you’re more likely to get the chance to do others, as opposed to someone who has done none.
Here’s a fun quote I really like:
Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose - not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.- Anne Sullivan
Get of your butt and do something. Sometimes, it may not lead to where you want as quickly as you would like. That’s fine. That’s life. But no matter what, experience and skill gained from your so-called small endeavours would put you in a better position to do the big things you really would like to do.
