Funny thing about yearbooks…
No matter who you are, there are pictures from your past that you consider embarrassing, if not downright horrifying.
Maybe you had goofy glasses, or a terrible haircut.
Maybe you were wearing hideous clothes or just acting stupid, as “kids” often to do.
(For example, I’m absolutely certain people will look back and feel intense shame that they were ever involved in “planking”)
There’s no way around it. That’s how life is. That’s the nature of fast-fading fads and the process of growing up.
But that was you. Being who you were then is part what made you who you are now.
There’s a very similar similar reality in marketing. When you look back at some of your early efforts, you may laugh and shake your head. Was that really you? Were you really that clueless?
Yep. That was you.
And that’s okay. Who you did back then has created business you have today.
Here’s the point. Everyone looks like a beginner when he’s just getting started at something. Don’t let the fact that you’re not perfect yet stop you from getting started. You don’t have to know everything about everything to do something.
There’s a good chance you’re going to look back at your old blog posts and wonder how those words ever came from your mind. I know I do. Your first efforts are probably going to look like first efforts.
And that’s okay. That’s how you build the business you want to be in the future.
So get started ASAP. Write that sales letter. Announce that seminar. Prepare to launch that product you’ve been sitting on for the past 5 years.
In 2020, you’ll either look back and see that the actions you took in 2014 (even though they may seem amateurish in hindsight) moved you toward in creating something great… or you’ll look back and regret waiting for the “perfect moment.”
What will you see when you look back?