Conditions will never be perfect

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"Whoever watches the wind will not plant, whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." That's the wisdom of Scripture (Ecc 11:4). Age old wisdom. Wisdom that is still relevant for today's struggle. To put it simply, conditions will never be perfect for getting your project off the ground. You may not have the required start-up capital; all the information needed to make a crucial decision may not be available, your team may lack some expertise; you may feel altogether inadequate for the task, but make your move anyway. Your success depends on it.

One of the biggest mistakes we make on the personal development path is to believe we have to be high on the measure of competence before we accept the mantle that major roles thrust upon us. On the contrary, it is through the challenges posed by these opportunities that we grow. It is as we stumble and bruise ourselves, fall and pick ourselves up that we grow in competence....and yes, confidence. It is as we tackle a problem broke - no money to throw at it - that we bring our ingenuity and creativity to the fore. It is as we take on our first client, with not enough experience, and less than enough know-how that we learn the peculiar needs of each of them, how we can fill those needs, and in the process stand out. But we have to start now....imperfect as conditions are.

When all is said and done, it comes down to your willingness to make incremental moves, and an understanding that it is often with the indiscernible, seemingly unimportant, steps that our most formidable and intimidating goals are achieved. Yeah, I know incremental is not appealing, but understand this: the cumulative effect of incremental moves is phenomenal. We're talking compound effect. But you must be willing to start where you are, with what you have now. Start with your so-called 'not enough', your inadequacies, your short-comings. Do it anyway.

Many times, while we wait for conditions to improve, opportunities depart. Procrastination is the thief of time, they say, and indecision the thief of opportunity. Make up your mind to face your inhibitions. Acknowledge your lack of resources, know-how or support. Acknowledge that conditions are less than perfect but believe that they are worth the risk - the risk of vulnerability, failure and loss even. The words of Martin Luther King come quickly to mind: "we don't have to see the whole staircase, we just need to take one step at a time." I've learnt that "less than perfect" is good ground for phenomenal success. You owe it to yourself to move towards it.