The hunger for authenticity guides us throughout our lives.
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.”
The world is waiting for you to start something.
Waiting to hear what you have to say.
Waiting to share your ideas and original work.
The self-criticism and self-doubt will always be present, and the only solution is to just act in spite of them.
Your first ebook, article, song, podcast, freelancer work or creative work will not be satisfying and perfect, and it’s okay.
When we express ourselves in a way that brings out the best in us, we’ve already succeeded. Step by step we improve. That’s what matters.
It matters that you persist.
Picasso never achieved full mastery.
Mozart never achieved full mastery.
Kobe Bryant did not achieve full mastery.
Nobody can achieve perfection. It’s humanly impossible.
But they showed up every day to share with us. They never withheld back.
Perfect lets you stall, ask more questions, safe it up and generally avoid doing anything that might fail.
Technology and everything that makes it insanely easy for us to share our work was made by people who are no smarter than you.
You can add to it.You can change it. You may not be able to predict the future but you can help to shape it.
Take advantage of the enormous opportunities the information age presents.
You have everything you need to go make something meaningful.
Something you deeply care about. You don’t have to be right when you start. But it matters that you begin.
And when you start, respect yourself and your work enough to spend yourself fully on the problems you solve.
Don’t allow complacency to rob you of years of engagement and fulfilling contribution.
Amelia Earhart said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
You don’t need permission to begin work that matters to you. You are worthy. You just need to believe it, get started and don’t stop. Don’t aim for perfection.
In your quest for perfection, you might try solution after solution, discarding one after the other because of the vague sense that no matter how good what you’ve got is, there must be something better.
You’re not in the perfect business. Stop pretending that’s what the world wants from you. The real world rewards those who get stuff done.
Great discoveries often evolve as slow hunches, maturing and connecting to other ideas over time.
Give yourself time in your life to wonder what is possible and to make even the slightest moves in that direction.
Even if you make slow steps towards your life’s work.
You have a finite amount of focus, time, and energy to offer the world, and it can never be reclaimed once it’s spent.
There’s no use in wasting your time lamenting the past or waiting too long to make a move because you are not ready. Nobody will ever be ready.
Rather, I urge you to focus on what’s next. What you can do tomorrow.
What can you show us?
Ultimately, your life will be measured by what you gave, not what you received or what you thought about doing.
Not what you think now! But by what you are doing now the action you will take tomorrow.
We need you to contribute.
Spend your life building a body of work. We need it.
We are waiting for you to show up. Engage today with urgency and diligence.
Begin to plant seeds every day that will yield a harvest later.
Tomorrow is only an unfulfilled wish, so live and work as if today is all you have. If you do, you will be able to lay your head down each night satisfied with your work, and in the end, you will die empty of regret, but full of satisfaction for a life well lived.
Embrace yourself for who you really are and learn to harness your creative potential to change the trajectory of your professional life.
“Don’t dare to be different, dare to be yourself — if that doesn’t make you different then something is wrong,” says Laura Baker.
Never miss an opportunity to show up.
You’ll suck at most things in the beginning. It takes time, persistence, and patience to create anything worthwhile. Keep on trying.
Keep doing what you love, even if no one buys it, sponsors it or shares it. It matters that you show up. The magic will eventually happen!
The biggest hurdle for all of us is to dive into our own potential and to see our own selves as incredibly beautiful and gifted personalities.
Everybody has a story to tell and a unique and distinct talent to share. Self-expression fulfills. It gives others hope and faith in themselves.
So, please create! When, if not now? The world needs more authentic creative expression from you, expression from deep within. What you do matters, not what you think, say or plan.
In “The Universe Doesn’t Give a Flying Fuck About You”, J. B. Truant writes:
“Nobody’s going to give you the gift of awesome. Nobody’s going to make you good, or great, or amazing, or epic.
Nobody’s going to make you an expert or an authority or a voice anyone should listen to.
Nobody’s going to level you up. If you want that next level, take it.
Take it for yourself. Grab it. Become it. Claim it. Write a treatise. Create an event. Champion a cause.
Build something great. Speak your mind. Make the call. Build the business. Author the book. Send the email. Do it. Do it.”
Great work, like a healthy financial portfolio, takes time to mature. Your best work will emerge with patient attention, time, and strategic action.
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Originally published at medium.com