Start Before You’re Ready

Over coffee, someone shared a concern I hear often—she didn’t feel ready.

She wondered if she was putting the cart before the horse.

We talked through it for a bit, and I finally said, “I think the cart and the horse are exactly where they need to be.”

She paused. And I could see it land.

There’s a belief many of us carry, especially as women: we need to be fully ready before we take the next step.

Before we apply for the job. 

Before we launch the business. 

Before we say yes to the opportunity. 

Before we launch the podcast.

We’ve been taught, or we believe, the horse must come first. Everything needs to be lined up before we move forward.

But real life rarely works that way.

Richard Branson is known for saying yes to opportunities before he knows exactly how to do them and then figuring it out along the way. Michael Masterson wrote a NYT Bestseller called Ready, Fire, Aim.

That idea -- do it, then learn how -- can feel uncomfortable.

Because underneath it is a quieter fear: What if I’m not ready… and everyone else can see it?

We imagine judgment. We imagine failure. We feel like an imposter.

But most of the time, none of that happens.

Instead, what happens is this: We grow into the role. We learn what we didn’t know. We figure things out faster than we expected.

And often, we realize… we were more ready than we thought.

I remember accepting a promotion early in my career and feeling a near panic set in. I was convinced I wasn’t ready.

My husband had to talk me off the ledge. He saw something I couldn’t see yet -- that I was ready, even through my waves of doubt.

I stepped into the darkness and figured it out.

I see it too often. People waiting until everything feels certain, when the only way to gain clarity is to start moving.

As I’ve stepped into new spaces: coaching, writing, and now hosting my podcast, DunnWise Perspectives. None of it required me to be 100% ready.

It required me to start.

And then keep going.

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Launching March 27: The DunnWise Perspectives Podcast: Stories of Resilience and Shifting Mindsets. Find it wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

If you’re looking for clarity in your business or career, you can reach me at doris@dunnwise.com, via DM, or at dunnwise.com.