Learn After Launch

Many say: “When I know X, I’ll do Y.”

Those who succeed say: “I’ll just start Y and learn X along the way”.

I hear your inner procrastinator scream: What about A? What about B? What about C?

As Bob Marely taught us: “Don’t worry”. They say 99% of learning happens after launching. You’ll learn A, B and C as and when you need to. But if you wait until you know it all, you’ll never start. Because you’ll never know it all.

For example, think about when you started to swim. Did you read 100 books on swimming? Watch every YouTube video on the subject? No. In fact, if you read 100 books on swimming would you be able to jump in and start swimming? No. You will only learn how to swim by getting in the water and giving it a go. Often in life you just have to get your feet wet.

I want to launch a blog and podcast. Maybe even a YouTube channel. I don’t really know much about blogging, podcasting or YouTubing. I know about 1% - how to switch a computer on. Nevertheless, I used what I did know to set up a website and started writing. I probably now know about 2%. But I’m confident that I’ll learn the 98% as I go. And that’s ok. That’s how it works. That’s all part of the fun.

And really the more you hear other entrepreneurs’ stories, the more you realise that they were and still are winging it. Funnily enough I heard a podcast the other day discussing policy makers. It revealed them making up some esoteric point of policy in the car on the way to the press conference to discuss some emergency or other. Everyone is winging it to some degree or another. Nobody has it all down pat!

So that’s why we just have to start. Now. Today.

Again, I hear your inner procrastinator scream: “I can’t just start. I look at so and so and watch so and so’s work. And it’s amazing! I could never put out such original, thought provoking, moving or inventive material. I need to be able to do X then I’ll be able to produce Y.”

Well to quote the great Derek Sivers in his book ‘Hell Yeah or No’: “Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them… So maybe what’s obvious to me is amazing to someone else?... We should just put them out there and let the world decide.”

It’s not our job to judge. We just need to start building, start learning, start sharing and then let the world decide if it’s any good or not.

It’s the internet after all, you’ll soon know either way.

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