Taking the First Step

July 3rd, 2020

All great things have to start somewhere. Well I should clarify: all things, good, bad and mediocre, have to start somewhere. So why not here? Why not now?

No project, whether it’s a novel, a portrait, or an application, ever greets the world fully formed. Every book started with its first draft, every portrait its first brush strokes and believe me, every piece of code has been refactored (or ought to have been if quality was a core company value) before it landed behind the comfort of your screen. Don’t fret about your masterwork before it’s even seen the light; you’re not waiting until it’s perfect, instead you are killing your momentum and reducing the likelihood that your passion will ever make it public.

If you tag in or around business and technology circles, you may have heard about releasing an MVP (minimum viable product), or about “shipping early and often.” It may even be advice you agree with, sending a project out with the minimum level of functionality to test for market fit, and improve iteratively over time. Missing from those discussions is, perhaps, the real reason you and I refrain from shipping: it’s painful.

• It’s painful to miss the mark.

• It’s painful to receive feedback.

• It’s painful hurts to attach your name to work that you’re not satisfied with.

If you see yourself in those words, I am right there with you; I’d bet most of the world is or has felt those exact same feelings. There’s a beauty in shared experience, but more so in the realisation that every success you see around you started in the same place, with those same worries.

So take the leap. Build something nearly invisible into something mighty. Just remember, it all happens one step at a time.

To quote a tongue-in-cheek phrase from Merlin Mann:

“Sometimes, taking the first step is the first step.”