So often we get trapped in analysis paralysis. We go over every possible outcome, focusing on all the ways things could go wrong. Now, I’m not going to tell you to just blindly plow forward, quit your day job and hope for the best. I am going to tell you to plow forward though.
Take one step. Just one. Anything. My favorite – tell someone your goal. Someone you trust – your wife, your buddy, your brother. Don’t tell them like you are asking for advice, or if they think it is a good idea. Just tell them this is what you are going to work toward. You aren’t seeking permission, or reassurance, or validation. Good thing too, because some of you won’t get it. Some will be greeted with shock, amusement, or even concern.
But here is why you do it – telling someone makes it real. Until you tell someone it is just a thought in your head. Thoughts can be ignored, pushed to the side, delayed indefinitely. But once it is out there in the world – now it is a real thing, made of concrete and steel. It is no longer just a dream, it is now a plan, or at least the beginning of a plan.
Once you have shared the goal, start making it even more solid. You goal probably requires a website. Get out a notepad and start planning it out. Then start building it. Squarespace is great for even moderately technical people to build their own sites. If that is too much for you, go on Fiverr and find someone to inexpensively build you a WordPress site. Have you thought of a domain name yet? Stake out that territory. Maybe the one you want is taken – keep thinking and checking until you have one registered to you.
Once you have a domain name for your business, and a web site even starting to take shape – hey it’s real! You are on your way. Think of it – this could all happen in less than an hour – you talk to someone, explain the plan, get a website started, stake out a domain. Now it has gone from a vague, fuzzy sort of dream you would like to pursue some day, into something that is real, solid.
It’s a crazy hour when you do it. You will be amped up, you will be thinking faster. You will start planning all the time for your next steps. Because you have taken the first step towards the goal.
PS – numerous studies show that sharing a goal makes us less likely to give up. The power of saying a goal out loud to a trusted adviser is real. So is announcing it to the world. Comments are turned on for this post – leave a comment about your project, your goal. (nothing illegal or ‘adult oriented’ please).