WHY STARTING MESSY MIGHT BE YOUR MOST STRATEGIC MOVE

Readiness is a myth that has haunted careers, stalled businesses, and drained more momentum than my dog’s morning zoomies!

We are told to prepare, to wait for the right time, to polish the plan, get another qualification, tighten the spreadsheet, align the stars, take a deep breath, and then begin. Meanwhile, someone with half the skill and three times the boldness has already launched, failed twice, figured it out, and posted a humble brag about it on LinkedIn.

Welcome to the world where those who move fastest often win… even if they are quietly winging it behind the scenes. 

Readiness sounds noble, it smells like discipline and feels like control. But often, it is just another form of procrastination. Waiting to feel ready is like waiting for your inbox to reach zero which is a largely fictional aim to have! Most people who look confident are more resourceful than certain. They are the ones who:

• Say yes, then figure out the software later.

• Step into the room, smile, and hunt down acronyms on the fly.

• Launch the thing, tweak as they go, and call it iterative strategy.

Confidence is not a guarantee of outcomes, it is simply the willingness to show up before you have all the answers. In other words, fake it strategically until the skills catch up. Competence grows from doing so success is often the reward for those who were brave enough to begin when others were still formatting their bullet points.

The ones who win are the ones willing to be a beginner, loudly, publicly, and with slightly sweaty palms, they understand that motion creates feedback which is where real growth lives. They take small, visible action, give themselves permission to improve as they go, and they redefine readiness as making a decision to be willing to take action. 

Everyone is winging something, the smart ones are just doing it with better posture and fewer apologies. So if you are waiting to feel qualified, clear, or certain before you begin…you might be waiting forever. The world rewards people who move, think, refine, and keep moving. 

So the next time you hear that inner voice whisper that you are not ready, just take that step anyway…because readiness is overrated.