As humans, it is difficult for us to come to terms with contradictions. The idea that what is bad for us, can harm us, puts us in danger, or distresses us can actually have a positive effect is hard to comprehend. Our instincts tell us to shelter ourselves from the storm, from what hurts and is uncomfortable. But that same feeling causes us to stagnate. It causes us to languish. Ultimately, that statis leads to our demise. More explicitly, trying not to fuck up causes you to fuck up.

It’s really easy not to make mistakes – just don’t do anything at all. Nothing ventured, nothing lost (or gained, as the saying goes). Don’t try to get in shape, don’t try to get that promotion, don’t try to start a business, don’t follow you dreams, and you will never have to worry about failing at those things. Easy, right?

However, if you do want to achieve more, you’re going to have to venture. You are going to need to feel uncomfortable. You are going to need to risk it. Undoubtably, you will fail. No one succeeds at everything all at once. The expression, Rome was not built in a day, usually brings to mind that good things take time, but rarely do people realize that the process of building Rome included making a lot of mistakes. Yet, there she stands, a symbol of great perseverance. All great projects start as small projects.

What are you working on? What is your project? What is the first step towards achieving your goal? Does it seem like a big step? Does it seem like if you fuck up that first step, everything is lost? Well, guess what? That might happen. You might produce garbage. You might produce a lot of garbage before you hit the mark. That’s okay. Please, do not wait until you have the perfect product or result before starting. Perfection is an ambiguous concept. Perfection is rarely found in the first iteration. Instead, perfection is formed over time through tension and effort. Diamonds are produced through prolonged periods of intense heat and pressure.

As a young man, I was always told that anything that comes easily has no value. The idea is representative of my protestant upbringing and may not be indicative of the absolute truth. However, in my lifetime, I have learned that the greatest achievements do not come without hard work, risk, and all the fears associated with failure. If you wait until everything is perfect, you will probably never move beyond the planning stage. You have to embrace the contradiction to create something of value. Feel the fear, feel the pressure, and produce anyways. Produce, produce, produce until you produce something of great value.