By: Eden Hensley; Photos by Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit
Beginnings are hard. They can be big like starting a business or they can be small like starting a blog post. Whether big or small, beginnings have something in common: an awkward phase.
When we are struggling to begin, the advice we do not want to hear is “Just start.” It is the truth, but we are not always ready for it. Yet as creatives, we need to get comfortable stepping outside our comfort zone, to embrace forever being a beginner, and to get good.
Some advice on beginning and embracing failure as part of the journey:
- “The most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week every month you know you’re going to finish one story. Because it’s only by going through a volume of work that you are actually going to catch up and close that gap. And the work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions.” – Ira Glass on Storytelling
- “Someone doesn’t wave a magic wand and make you successful or good at something. You don’t just head down to the career center at your community college and fill out an application to be a successful entrepreneur… . You have to give yourself permission to suck first.” – David Kadavy
- “We all need to go out into the world and not be afraid to fail. We must not be afraid to go out there and move towards the life that we truly want. … It is through failure that we grow. It is through failure that we become the best versions of ourselves.” – Juanita Kwarteng
To help motivate you to write your first blog post, here are a couple of first blog posts:
- Why I Can’t Blog – Natalie Bowman
- My First Blog – David Kadavy
What is holding you back from beginning? Is it fear? Join us next Wednesday December 10th 9AM PT/12PM ET on Twitter for #AltChat as we explore the role of fear in business.
