Someone With Half Your Knowledge Already Started

The truth is… you’re not lazy. You’re addicted to thinking. You love imagining success. You rehearse every possible move. You dream in scenarios. And then you flinch the second you’re actually seen trying. 

But here’s the trap… You think you’re different. You think you’re above the beginner phase. Like you’ll start clean, perfect, anonymous, and one day just explode and be seen by all. 

That’s not a strategy… that’s ego talking. 

You tell yourself: “I’ll start a blog once I really know this topic.” “I’ll take that certification when I’m sure I’ll pass.” “I’ll make my project and push the code to my GitHub when I know that this is actually the project that’ll get me hired.” “I’ll apply for jobs when my portfolio is complete and polished.”

Meanwhile someone with half your knowledge already started. They’re building in public, failing in public, learning in public. And you know what? They’re getting further along than you. 

This goes for everything; certifications, projects, networking, learning… you can prepare, research, and plot forever, but at some point you just need to go do it. The extra time rarely makes the difference, but the fear of failing keeps you in perpetual preparation mode. 

Nobody actually cares, and the day you realize that you get both crushed and filled with relief. 

Nobody cares if you succeed, nobody cares if you learn, nobody cares if you make your life and yourself better.

But, here’s the relief… nobody cares if you fail either. Nobody cares how long it took you to understand something. Nobody cares about your messy first attempts. Nobody’s keeping track of all your falls.

Except you. You’re the only one obsessing over it.

That TryHackMe lab you’re afraid to stream because you might look stupid? The blog post you won’t publish because it’s “not knowledgable enough”? The networking event you’re skipping or failing to talk to people at because you “don’t have anything to talk about” or “don’t know how to talk to people”?

Nobody’s thinking about these things except you. And the people who would judge you? Their opinion doesn’t matter because they’re not the ones you want to impress anyway.

The right people - hiring managers, mentors, and peers you respect - they all went through the same awkward beginner phase. They were terrible at things and remember it all vividly. They respect the effort, not the polished result. 

Anyone who mocks beginners is either insecure about their own skills or has some other sad reason they use as an excuse to put others down. Those people don’t build, they don’t create, they don’t matter. 

Here’s what perfectionism really is: socially acceptable procrastination. 

It FEELS productive to keep preparing. To add one more project to your portfolio. To study one more week before challenging a certification exam. To do your code cleaner once more before pushing it. 

But you aren’t preparing at some point. You’re just hiding.

You’re hiding from the discomfort of being a beginner in public. From the possibility of looking foolish. From the reality that growth is messy and visible and uncomfortable. 

The alternative to rough early work isn’t polished perfection. It’s NOTHING. Nothing to show. Nothing learned. No progress made. 

I’m publishing this post even though it’s not perfect, because that’s literally the point. I wanted to write and post something today, so I did it. 

Your move. Get after it now.