As a newbie entrepreneur – still green around the gills – scouring the internet for business advice, I sometimes get confused by all the things that you should take into account when starting your own business. Luckily some advice is more helpful than others, and the best online advice I ever got was: You are gonna suck, at first and that’s okay. It’s part of the learning curve.
You are probably gonna suck, and suck some more, at first.
I love that thought. Knowing you are probably going to suck anyway, reduces the fear of failure to a somewhat more manageable level. The ‘Knowledge of Suckage’ gives you the excuse to just try. You have permission to suck. Just do it. Excellence takes practice.
Give yourself permission to explore.
You’re not going to get anywhere without trying and if you already know you’re going to SUCK big time anyway – well there’s that pressure out-of-the-way. You don’t have to overthink anything, because you already know the truth:
The first thing you put out there will probably suck.
Woohoo, powerfull sh*t.
I will say it again: It’s gonna suck, very probably.
Life has already taught you this lesson. Most things you do for the first time suck:
- When you first started to speak, you just made some weird sounds – at least that’s what child-speak sounds to me. *gurgul, gurgul, gurgul*
- When you first started to write, your letters where unreadable.
- The first time you went bike riding without the training wheels, you probably fell and hurt yourself.
- That time, when you first took up a musical instrument, the cats were probably howling to the moon it sucked so much.
- Your first kiss probably felt like you were kissing the washing machine – mine did at least.
Yeah! At least you know that there is always room for improvement. As you practised these things on this list, you got better at them until that moment that you didn’t suck at them anymore.
Right now you have to congratulate yourself because you are already one step ahead of everyone else who decided to wait and do nothing. You kept believing in yourself enough to take action.
Congratulations. You took action.
Or you are going to, right after you finish this blog post.
Focus on the action itself, not on the results you are trying to achieve.
Marie Forleo.
It’s okay if you suck. It doesn’t MATTER. What matters more is that you are TRYING. Because you are trying, you get a little less sucky each time you put yourself out there. So, if you have a dream, go for it. Ask feedback from those people around whom you trust. Get better.
Do it your way.
Every time I push that publish button, I get a little scared and I know it might suck – the post might not strike a chord with you, it might not be exactly on-brand (yet) – but doing nothing won’t get me any closer to my dream – having a successful business helping women who, like me, want to live their dreams and fulfil their adventures.
Just do you. Embrace the fact that you’re probably gonna suck, at first.
Don’t let that stop you! Keep going, chica.
Courage lies in knowing you’ll probably suck, and doing it anyway.
Adventure Awaits!
Love,
Susanna