I talked with Adam Harris from Cloudbeds yesterday, and he commented that I found it insightful and rather profound. Paraphrasing, he said that what he started out doing was not what they ended up doing. The original idea did not pan out, but along the way, they discovered a better approach that was more relevant and topical to the market and, through grit and perseverance, were able to find a successful path. I started to think about how helpful this realization can be to people that are embarking on a new career, new job, or new business. We try to visualize the path to success when we start out to confirm to ourselves that this is a good idea. We imagine what the success path will be. The path we ultimately end up on rarely resembles what we start out with. So, all the angst and consternation about starting seems rather frivolous.
Perfect is Not The Plan
I understand you want it to be just right. You want everything to be perfect. You want to make the right choices, hire the best people, and come up with the best idea. You want to have the meteoric and picturesque rise to success that you see in entrepreneur magazines. So you wring your hands in worry, you furrow your brow in deep concern, you second and triple guess. You dip your toe into the water while looking around to see how everyone will react. What you do not realize is that these simple decisions that you are agonizing over will have little impact on your ultimate outcome. In fact, you most likely will not remember them. When you finally do get interviewed for your glorious success story, you will brush over these inconsequential decisions, and none of these things that cause you so much worry will even make the highlight reel.
Experience is What Is Needed
What should you be worried about? Your grit, determination, and willingness to put in the effort when it is needed most. Ideas can help, small choices along the way are necessary, and the people you surround yourself with are critical, but none of this will matter much if you are not constantly pushing, looking, seeking, trying, and trying again. If you do, then you will eventually find the right path or potentially create one. You will work it out and learn what works and what does not. You will have experience. Experience, you see, is the ingredient that you do not have when you first start out. You cannot manufacture that. You cannot fake it. You cannot gain experience from your AI tool. Experience is only gained one way. Time under pressure.
It is Not How You Start, It How You Perform
So, my advice? Stop worrying about your starting position. It makes little difference in your ultimate outcome. Worry instead about how you are going to perform during the race. What your life will end up being like is not something you can predict, so give up trying. Start and run hard. See where this amazing life of hard work and perseverance will take you.
