This one goes out to all my ‘dreamer’ friends.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to try something new — an idea you’ve been mulling over for a while — but, for whatever reasons, you haven’t started yet. Perhaps you feel this “thing” is too big a thing to do…too daunting…too many “unknowns”. (Where do you even begin, right?) Perhaps you’ve told others about your aspirations only to be met with discouraging words. Or, maybe you haven’t told anyone, but you’re already feeling embarrassed by the thought of your family and friends suddenly knowing this “new thing” about you. What will they say? And how will that make you feel?

I’ve been there. Many times. Let me say this: whether it’s one of the distractions I’ve listed above, or any others you might feel, I say “screw it” — do your thing. Don’t wait.

I listed three possible distractions above, so I’ll address only those. If, however, you find that there are different obstacles blocking you from getting started, I encourage you to find a way over, under, around, or through them. Okay, let’s go:

(1) The fear that your idea is too “big” or “daunting”. My response: Just START already. It’s a simple concept I learned from a book by Guy Kawasaki called “The Art of the Start”, and in it he says, “You could spend all your time learning and not doing. And DOING, not learning to do, is the essence of entrepreneurship.” (page XI) Now, you may not be thinking of starting a new business, but his words are just as true. Start. Right now. No amount of prior research can hold a candle to jumping in and finding out what REALLY HAPPENS once things are underway. Don’t wait another moment. When I decided to start down the path of voice acting, I constantly fought back waves of internal resistance — trudging forward knowing it wouldn’t be easy. But so what? It was worth it. And you know what? It wasn’t as hard as my imagination would have me believe.

(2) Hearing discouraging words from others. My response: (and this is one of my favorites): always consider the source. These discouragers — are they experts in your field of interest? If not, well…upon hearing their negativisms, remember this: the normal human hand has four fingers and a thumb…pick one and show it to them! ;~D (Okay — don’t actually do that!) But seriously, guard your positive attitude always, and try not to let others discourage you. Stay focused and determined. You know how many times I had to suffer elders’ discouraging words about my quest to enter the music industry? What if I had actually listened?!? Here’s another thing: you can always keep your idea a secret for as long as possible — which leads nicely into the third obstacle.

(3) What happens when my family and friends find out? (And how will they make me feel?) This one is simply a delayed version of number two. If you really love what you’re doing, others will feel it, and only a true, hard-hearted hater would dare rain on your parade in such moments. I remain hopeful that you’ll clearly and instantly recognize these discouragers and dismiss their pessimisms accordingly.

Now go get started!

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-Tom