We're Never Ready

Oh sure, maybe we’re ready for the easy stuff. Ready to leave for work, make dinner, hop in a Lyft, do the laundry, pay the credit card bill.

But the work that matters, that enlivens the spirit, that changes us, our tribes, and the world around us? That’s a whole different deal.

The journey to remarkable is much the same. Taking the plunge can be scary. But naming our fear is helpful, because it is our fear that keeps us stuck. Resistance is the dragon we must all slay. Letting go of any notion of perfection will help us stay on the path.

Being willing to get started—to accept that the only way we can ever really know that we are on the right path is to start walking, slowly at first, but faster and faster as we gain confidence—is essential.

If we keep waiting, what exactly is it that we are waiting for? More data? More clarity about the future? Our new hire to start? One more conference to attend? Maybe a sign from above or a direct order from our boss?

Because here’s the thing. The conditions will never be perfect. The time will never be right. I have little idea what’s going to happen in the future, and neither do you. But chances are, you already have everything you need to take that first step. And yeah, there’s a pretty good chance it might not work. But standing still, hoping for a little more analysis, a bit more polish, a really cool PowerPoint presentation, or picking up a new credential is not likely to work either.

Like it or not, it’s later than we think. The bullet of disruption has already been fired. We can wait until it hits us and cross our fingers we survive. Or not.

The fact is that we’re never really ready for what truly matters, for what’s urgently needed. But we can still start. And if not now, when?

The above is adapted from a section of Chapter 20 (“A Brave New World”) in my new best-selling book Remarkable Retail.