These are my first steps. I’ve been wanting to start writing for a long time. I didn’t find the inspiration.
Finding inspiration is hard.
So I gave it up. I gave it up for a long time. Finally, I came to focus on discipline.
Now I’m sitting down, writing, and this might actually be the first out of my many drafts that I finish and publish. It’s not going to be a major game changer and it won’t go viral. That’s what happens for most things that are published. But there is something this time that feels different. I don’t care if I fail. I don’t care if my first post doesn’t blow up.
So instead I decided to just start.
You can recognise the feeling, right? The imposter syndrom has a tight grasp on you and you feel your words don’t come out the way they should. That they aren’t good enough. Maybe they are okey, but look at that person. I can never reach that level.
I have a friend called Mikael Vesavuori. He writes complex articles on tech subjects. He’s one of my biggest inspiration and I haven’t seen anything he does that isn’t amazing. I don’t think I could ever write something as witty (his article Selling Digital by the Hour is Like Shooting Yourself in the Foot Before Going For a Run) or technical (his series on Google Cloud Platform) as him. Yet I know he doubts himself.
‘Why would anyone care what I have to say?’
Try turning that around. What if someone out there finds my struggles and thoughts relatable? What if I can connect with people thanks to this? What if, be some miracle, people are a lot more similar to you than you think?
I’ve been fighting the imposter syndrome since I started my first job. But I still got the job, didn’t I?! Focus on that. On the countless hours you put in to get to the point where someone would hire you. No one started as a pro.
Focus on the good parts. That is what I decided to do when I sat down to write this. Because it’s something I’ve been wanting to do. The whole idea is that I wanted to work on my personal brand. I want to be the person who writes articles.
So, just as flipping a switch, I now am that person. I will continue to strive to write more and take everyone that finds it interesting along on my journey. You will see that everyone can start a journey and work on their personal brands. I’ve spent countless hours with failed businesses, Instagram account with no followers and apps with less than 100 downloads. But that’s not going to stop me. Every time I push myself and do something, I learn something.
And so can you. You just have to dedicate yourself to it.
So go out there and create that Instagram account. Create that YouTube channel you’ve been wanting to create. Don’t care about what people that don’t resonate with you will think. Think of what friendships you could build if you attract like-minded people. Think of where you could be in two years if you start today. Have discipline enough to just start. To take the first step. Just like I’m doing now. Next article I will write about what services you can use to help you on your way.
Follow me on my journey and see where we end up in a year. And know that it started here.
