Just Do it! Don’t Let Perfection or Fear, Stop You From Starting.⏱️

Published: Sun, 02/28/21

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It.

— Walt Disney

I can’t remember a time when I haven’t been collecting or reading comics. I’ve spoken much about my love of the medium because they’ve had so much influence over my creative path. The lessons I’ve learned through this passion will stand me in good stead if I take time to learn from them. And this was an incredibly eye-opening experience I wanted to share. When I talk about going out into the world and doing what must be done, I’m speaking from a position of experience because I didn’t start my upward path like that.

Be Afraid and Do it Anyway.

I’ve always collected comics, especially those based on black characters from both Marvel and DC publishers. Many years ago, I was inspired to write a novel about the T’Challa, the Black Panther, and the world of Wakanda. I loved the character and felt I could do it justice. This was early in my writing career and way before Kindle and the self-publishing revolution. It was decades before the worldwide popularity of the character too. I had the reference material - I was an avid collector of early Black Panther comics, the skeleton of a story, and just needed to begin the process.

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It never happened.
I talked myself right out of it.

Marvel would sue me.
Did I have the writing chops to take on such a project?
Would anyone want to read it?
Could I afford to pay for the printing costs?
Who am I to think I can do this? And on and on it went.

Recounting my self-doubt, the negativity, and what it cost me is painful. The lesson was well learned.

If I had written this novel, as bad as it may have been, I know I would have been better able to ride the present wave of the character’s immense popularity. Back then, my marketing chops weren’t as refined as they are today, so I would have experienced raised eyebrows, slammed doors, and pushback, but damn if I wouldn’t have made an impression. If not on the world but myself.

If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting for the rest of your life.
Just do the damn thing.
I let an opportunity pass me because my hang-ups about being perfect and my fear clouded my vision. Forget being perfect. Forget having all your ducks in a row. Forget being ready.

Whatever you’ll do, there is never a guarantee that you’ll sell it or that this particular thing will put you on the map.
Let the motherfucker bomb if it must!

If your focus is a commercial success, remember it’s measured by how many people bought the book, how many people showed up to see the film, how many people reviewed it, or how many people told their friends about it. Some projects will succeed while others will not do as well, but it doesn’t matter. Keep producing. It’s just one of the many works you have produced. It will get better and more relevant every time you ship them. If there is such a thing as the law of averages, then you’re on the right side of the curve to eventually make a splash.

Keep stepping and keep learning. Forget about the accolades that will come of their own accord, especially if you consistently produce the work. Don’t let the worry about the outcome keep you from pulling the trigger on your hopes and dreams as I did.
Jump in the pool of the universe and make ripples, my friend; sometimes it takes moments, sometimes years for the ripples to return to you. But return, they will.
It doesn’t matter if the idea is complex or straightforward; take action; it works.
Just do it.

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