To preface, I'm so very guilty of this. 

Do you know those ideas that make you feel like you hit the jackpot?! They can be about an article, piece of clothing, business idea, book, play, short film, design, piece of art, or whatever you're in to. Those ideas where you're just like wow if I do this right, this is it! My career will take off, people will take me seriously, people will love me, ya-da-ya-da, the list goes on as we play it up in our heads.  

So, you have this precious idea and you feel the need to protect it. You jot it down somewhere and make some notes and plans about how you would execute it (under the 'right' circumstances, of course!). You don't dream of telling anyone about this idea because it's too awesome and other people might just steal it if you tell them! No one can be trusted anymore. I mean maybe you can tell your mother if she promises not to tell anyone else. 

Then the days after your epiphany turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, and that great idea of yours is just sitting in your journal that's gathering dust because you haven't had any new kind-of-less-awesome-but-still-pretty-good ideas. But no, you can't even think of getting started on your jack-pot idea because if you screw it up, you're done. You can't blow your one shot at doing something amazing people will love. If you mess it all up, there goes your shot at fame! Your shot at sitting on the Jimmy Fallon couch. Jimmy will never look at you with his warm dark eyes... 

Here's the thing though you'll come back to your amazing idea eventually, and unfortunately, it's kind of lost that spark it first had. You know in your mind it's still a fantastic idea, but it doesn't feel the same and you feel a bit more lost on how to get started on it. You thought you would feel more ready with time to start tackling it but you still don't feel "ready." Maybe next year? What did you do with this year? Why aren't you ready yet?! Jimmy isn't getting any younger. 

The hard truth is, you have to start on your big idea. Ideally, you have to start on it right when you have the idea, but don't worry, it's not too late. 

Don't get stuck in a perfectionist mindset, failure is ok!

A lot of us get stuck due to a low-key "perfectionist" mentality. We want to get our project done right the first time. It has to be done right or it's all for nothing. The thing is if you're starting, a lot of your work or projects are going to be pretty lame. And sure, maybe your idea won't seem like garbage by other people's standards, and a lot of people might even love your work and praise you for it. However, when you look back at it after a couple of years of relentlessly pursuing your dreams and pumping out more new good ideas, it will look like garbage to you (and that's a good thing). If you look back and your first work still feels like your best work, I'd wonder if you had any growth or practice since your last big project. 

I think this quote helps encapsulate our fears and frame of mind quite well: 

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.”
― Anne Lamott,

Here's the freeing truth that you need to hold onto... you're going to have more ideas!!

You're going to have more ideas that are going to be even better than what you first thought was your big, life-changing "jack-pot" idea.

By keeping yourself locked in place with your one golden idea that you are too scared to start, you block yourself from experiencing new ideas that are probably even better. You won't "find your voice"  because you won't get the chance the experiment with multiple projects. All this time worrying about your one big idea could be spent doing it, getting it done, and moving on to a new one. Don't block your ability to grow as an artist or entrepreneur by staying stuck with one project you're too nervous to start. 

START! 

Stop waiting to feel "ready".

Here's another truth that might sound more depressing than it is. You're probably never going to "feel ready" for your next big idea. If you have a big new idea that challenges you and excites you, it makes sense you won't feel ready for it. If someone asks me to draw a simple yellow flower with a crayon, I can say with confidence that I feel ready for that challenge.

That's the thing though, the things we feel 'ready' for are not a challenge and will not help us grow. Learn to take that feeling of "not feeling ready" as a good indication that the project on your mind will help you grow and develop your skills. 

Confidence gets built through action and artistic proof.

You might know in your heart that you are an artist, that you are meant to be an incredible entrepreneur or a mind-blowing movie director, but without any art or previous work to prove it to yourself, it is hard to effectively fight away the doubt and fear that sneaks into your mind. Those thoughts that tell you "You're not good enough," "You'll never get there," "Just give up, why do you bother?" etc. It gets hard to keep these negative thoughts at bay when there is no visual proof showing us that we are what we believe ourselves to be. 

Julia Cameron, writer of "The Artist's Way" says it beautifully: 

The Fledging Artist's Plight: "Wait a minute, I am too an artist!" The dreaded response may come back, "How do you know?" And, of course, the fledging artist does not know. There is just this dream, this feeling, this urge, this desire. There is seldom any proof, but the dream lives on.

Give yourself the chance to build confidence in your abilities. Sometimes when we're starting, it's hard to start sharing what we've created because we feel there is little proof out there that affirms we are what we feel we are; an artist, illustrator, writer, actor, director and so on.  Starting somewhere is the hardest part but it is so important. When you have some tangible proof, even if it's a garbage first draft or shotty plan, it's proof that you can do what you say you can. 

So how do you get started?

I'm not saying just throw everything to the wall and do your golden idea haphazardly just to get it out there. I am saying do something to start it now. Maybe you are one of those people that need to carefully plan something, there is nothing wrong with that! Start planning and then continue to execute your plan. 

Some first steps might be:

1. Having a brainstorm session at a cafe to reignite that original spark.

2. Writing a couple of hundred garbage words a day to begin your first draft and create a sense of accomplishment and belief in yourself.

3. Researching that thing you need to research for your business idea to build confidence in your concept.

4. Speaking the idea out loud to someone to make it feel real and give yourself a subtle sense of accountability.

5. Creating a rough plan with general timelines in an excel or notebook to have some structure in place and feel organized.

6. Asking someone to push you to do something like a post on your blog even though the idea still scares you!

7. If you feel you don't have the mental energy to take on any big projects, no matter how little the first step, take care of yourself first. Rest. Inspire yourself. Read. Drink tea. Whatever you have to do to recharge and feel like yourself again!

What if it feels scary? It will feel scary. It will feel scary and uncomfortable and that is 100% normal. It will feel less scary as you keep doing your awesome big ideas.

Dust off that journal, and figure out how to get started now.