Start Now, Adapt Later

My recent conversation with Scott Hall shed a light on a concept I sometimes overlook in the hustle and bustle of everyday life: the power of getting started and allowing the rest to fall into place as you move along.

Scott is an enrolled agent (tax preparer and planner) who I had on my podcast, and our conversation primarily revolved around the nuances of business structures and taxes. His knowledge and experiences in this realm helped me a ton, but it wasn’t just the hard tax facts that stuck with me. It was the indirect reminder that the journey of any venture is seldom a straight path. The winding road I've traveled with my own business is testament to this fact.

Three years into running my own business, I've already restructured twice. What I do from day to day, as well as how my taxes are structured, has dramatically shifted from where it all began. For instance, my starting point was a deep dive into the world of content marketing, which felt both exciting and slightly terrifying at the time. (I was also reserving way too much money for taxes, but better safe than sorry, right?)

Fast-forward a year and a half, and my focus morphed largely into ghostwriting and editing book manuscripts—a role I hadn't initially set out to explore. This unforeseen opportunity popped up simply because I was already a foot soldier in the freelance writing trenches. As it turns out, this detour became something I not only thoroughly enjoyed, but now see as an integral part of my career path for the foreseeable future.

These days, I still find immense satisfaction in ghostwriting. But my creative journey has branched out further as I endeavor to develop content under my own name—through this Substack, my YouTube channel, and podcasting. The dream is to become an independent writer who can comfortably pay the bills through Substack and other media channels.

Yet, if I had never dipped my toes in the uncertain waters and started on this path, I wouldn't be where I am today.

It's easy to fall prey to the illusion that you need a flawlessly laid-out plan before embarking on any new venture. That you must wait for the stars to align, for everything to be just right. Yet, that's far from the reality of life. How many of you reading this can confidently claim your life or career has unfolded exactly as you'd envisioned? Likely, very few.

I faced a similar barrier when I decided to launch my podcast. In the spirit of complete honesty, there are days when I feel a pang of frustration at myself for not delivering the best video or audio quality. I've had to remind myself that I'm navigating this with a budget of exactly $0 and still on a steep learning curve. But I know in a few months or a year from now, when I have a better grasp of podcasting and the quality has improved, I'll be thankful I took that first step.

So, I'm taking a note out of my own book and reminding myself (and you!) to resist getting overly attached to the outcome, but rather to begin whatever is close to my heart and permit the plan to evolve over time. The starting point might not be perfect, but it's always worth taking that first step.

Let me leave you with this relevant quote from C.S. Lewis:

“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”