Action vs. inaction
2 min read
Nothing starts until you try. Trying is also how you find out what you were actually meant to do.
Everything I have done started with actually doing it. That sounds obvious, but I think most people stop before that part. They decide what they want to be, then wait until they feel ready to start.
Before you feel ready
You cannot become a designer without designing. Thinking about design is not the same as designing. At some point you have to open the tool and make something real.
- Make something.
- Look at it honestly.
- Figure out why it works, or why it does not.
Trying changes the direction
You do not learn your real path from planning. You learn it by doing the work long enough for the next door to show up.
- Graphic design can lead to product design.
- Marketing with smaller customers can lead to enterprise work.
- The first interest is often just the entry point, not the destination.
What inaction costs
Inaction keeps every option open and moves none of them forward. A year passes and you still have the same idea, just with more reasons why the timing is wrong.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
How growth actually works
I am not saying every attempt works. Most of mine did not, at least not in the way I expected. But each one taught me something the next attempt needed.
- Try something, even if the first version is bad.
- Learn what that attempt actually taught you.
- Carry that into the next try.
- Let the direction get clear while you are moving, not while you are waiting.
If you want to do something, start badly if you have to. Make the first version. Send the message. Action will not guarantee the outcome you pictured. It will give you a real one to work with, and that is where growth starts.