I’d like to transition to working for myself, but I’m not sure how to do it!

Now, this anonymous friend of mine has a lot of technical online knowhow, so I didn’t even bother pointing her to my series, How To Make A Living In Your Pajamas. If you need the technical steps, be sure to read those posts. But even though my friend said she didn’t know “how to do it”, she didn’t really mean the actual technical aspects of it. No, she needed the higher-level aspects.

She needed confirmation that she should start part time, while working at her day job. She needed reassurance that the ideas she had were solid ones. And most importantly, I believe, was she needed to get past the fear.

We all live in fear of the unknown. Can we do it? Are we good enough? Do we know enough? What if we do the wrong things? What if we make mistakes?

Let me answer those questions right now for each of you.

Can I do it? YES
Am I good enough? YES
Do I know enough? YES
What if I do the wrong thing? NO BIG DEAL
What if I make mistakes? YOU WILL. SO WHAT?

Yes, you can do it, and yes you will make mistakes. But the mistakes can be overcome. Sure, you can try to avoid blogging mistakes, for instance, with some guidance, but there’ll be other mistakes waiting around the corner. The only mistake that cannot be overcome is the mistake of never trying.

So, of the things I told my friend, the most important piece of advice that I gave her, in my opinion, was this:

Really, it’s more a matter of just putting one foot in front of the other and start doing.

You can and should learn the technical how-to’s, but don’t put off actually taking the first step until you know everything…because that day will never come.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fear of the unknown, online friend, online knowhow, taking the first step
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