Book That Ticket, Do That Thing (start before you’re ready)

The timing with never be right.

So hop on that plane, start that business and do that thing you’ve been wanting to do. The world is waiting for you, your epic projects and artistic take on things.

Start before you’re ready — that’s the secret. This is how the most inspiring people and stories get their momentum, learn, grow and achieve awesome things.

I’m far from perfect, but the less I wait on stuff, the more exciting my life gets. So this is what’s working for me.

Now let’s do this!

Table of Contents Show

Why We Wait…

We wait for all sorts of reasons. And it’s often personal and contextual. So I like to do some self reflection to better understand myself, my goals, my fears, my weaknesses and more.

But here are some common reasons why we wait on starting things:

• Imposter syndrome

• Fear of failure

• Fear of success

• Lack of resources

• No urgency

• It’s not important

• Lack of time

• Negative past experiences

• The wrong mindset

• A lack of clarity or direction

• General anxiety or fear of looking dumb

Benefits of Starting Before You’re Ready

• Improve discipline

• Discover issues faster and learn faster

• Actually move closer to your goals

• Build more sustainable habits

• Improve your confidence

• Overcoming perfectionism

• Spark creativity and on-the-fly work

• Work on progress over planning

Explore more:
➤ I Finally Improved my Follow-Through

How to Start Before You’re Ready (x tips)

“The best way out is always through”

— Robert Frost

1. Tell No One

I’ve used this strategy a lot with my music and art projects. Doing something in secret takes away the awkwardness of putting yourself out there in front of friends and family.

This is especially a good strategy if you’re doing some type of creative work.

One fun way to do this is by creating an alter ego. Here’s how:

• Define your ideal character traits

• Get inspired by your idols and mentors

• Try a pen name and use separate social accounts

• Embody your alter ego

2. Tell Everyone

Sometimes, telling no one is the worst move. So if this isn’t working or doesn’t feel right for you, maybe you should tell everyone instead.

This create public pressure and accountability.

Telling everyone you know (and more) is better if you’re the type of person who quits easily, puts things off or struggles with follow-through. And no shame here either! I’m totally guilty of being sluggish with my projects.

Here are a few ways to make things more public:

• Make it a public challenge

• Share your progress (mistakes and all)

• Vlog or blog about your journey

3. Reframe Stuff as a Project

A little while back, I started reframing all of my goals as projects. And it’s been such a powerful shift in perspective.

It feels more creative and fun and less stressful. It also feels more tangible.

Because goals tend to feel like hopes or dreams. But projects are more active. Just feel the difference:

• I have a goal of starting this business.

• I have a project of starting this business.

The second one just hits different — you can feel it! So don’t have goals, have projects.

Explore more:
➤ Have Projects, Not Goals (the artist’s way)

4. Just Look at the Next Step

When I struggle with starting before I’m ready, I like to focus just on the tiny step that’s in front of me — not the top of the mountain off in the distance.

Looking to far ahead can create anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. But shifting focus to the nano breaks things up and makes the work feel less intimidating or stressful.

To shift focus, it helps to first break down your big goals into smaller ones. Keep the macro in mind, but focus on the nano.

That’s the move.

Explore more:
➤ The ‘Do Something’ Principle Works

5. Use Your Zone of Proximal Development

“Your zone of proximal development takes advantage of baby steps and sustainable growth forward.”

Your zone of proximal development is the area just beyond your current comfort and skills. It’s not too much, but also not too little — which is the perfect place for real, sustainable growth.

For example, I like to make music. Now let’s say I want to start releasing music — but I don’t feel ready. Luckily, there are a series of steps before actually releasing music (this is true for most things).

So instead of just uploading and hitting release through a distributor, I’ll work within my zone of proximal development by focusing on one step at a time:

1. Start by finishing a list of songs

2. Choose one to produce

3. Spend a month or two making it awesome

4. Spend a few weeks hyping it up with pre-release content

5. Pitch the upcoming release to playlists, bloggers and curators

6. Release

Each step in this process stretches my zone of comfort just a little more.

I didn’t feel ready to release, but I felt okay with simply finishing and preparing the songs for release. It was a little pressure, but not too much.

6. Stack the Deck

I’m about as good as the people, places and things in my life. So let’s stack that deck.

This means engineering a context in your life that support your goals and starting more things (before you feel ready).

Here’s where I focus:

• My inner circle

  • The people in my life

• My outer circle

  • The content I consume

• My environment

  • The spaces and places I spend time in

7. Use Visualization

Artists, business leaders and athletes all use it. It’s a powerful mental move that seriously works.

Visualization is when you imagine some future situation in your mind and emotionally embrace it as if it’s already happening or happened. It’s a form of mental practice.

Research even shows that visualization can grow new muscles, improve athletic performance and boost confidence.

Pretty epic if you ask me! So if you’re struggling to start before you’re ready, try starting with some visualization. It’s low pressure and creates legit changes.

Here are some tips:

• Get detailed — be specific

• Use emotion — feel your visualization

• Believe what you’re doing — expect and accept

• Be open — don’t control how things happen, just trust the process

Explore more:
➤ How to Manifest (like an artist)

Later ✌️

Starting before you’re ready is how you reach your goals. But it’s not always easy. Sometimes, we feel scared, unprepared or like an imposter. But the truth is, nobody knows what they’re doing (at least in the beginning).

So the only strategy is to just start.

Some helpful tricks I like to use are visualization, stacking the deck and reframing things as creative projects.

Ultimately, a shift in becoming more process-oriented and loving the journey is key.

Focus on the nano, enjoy the ride and detach from expectations or metrics. That’s the secret.

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