"Jump, spread your wings on the way" - Ray Bradbury

This quote popped out at me completely by accident when I was searching the internet for some advice. And I have to admit, it was almost an accident of fate.

But from the beginning. I think almost all of us, at least once in our lives, have dreamed of something we wanted to achieve. I'm thinking now of a project, something that he would find himself in, that he would enjoy, that would fulfill him.

Write a book, run a marathon, learn to cook like a chef, start painting...

And how many times have you not achieved that because you just didn't start because you were afraid you couldn't do it yet? When I think about it strictly, that's pretty much the reason why people fail to achieve their dreams.

It's not a lack of time, money, but the idea that they have to be perfect before they can start doing it "properly". They look for tutorials, they buy courses, and they learn from more experienced people how to do it.

There's nothing wrong with that, the problem is that then quite often they are left in the position of someone who just learns and never tries it themselves. They're afraid of failure.

I've recently started doing interviews with interesting people. I enjoy writing and the world around it, and I love talking to them. So why not?

When about four episodes of our podcast came out, I got a few calls from viewers. Not for the content or to ask questions. They wanted to point out to me that I didn't have a professional microphone, lighting, or speech... in fact, that everything was wrong, or underdeveloped. That they liked the topics discussed, but...

Of course, I want to get better at what I enjoy. So, at their urging, I started looking at how to do things better. And I found out that there is a big, big pile of things I need to learn.

So big, in fact, that I even briefly considered stopping the project until I had it figured out. I'm not going to embarrass myself by saying something isn't perfect, am I?

I figured it would take me a few months to buy all the equipment and learn proper manners. Plus I have to practice and everything. What does it matter if the people watching like it anyway, after all, they're happy to wait a year before I'm perfect. It's only worth doing it properly, right?

I believe you get the point by now.

Don't give a damn about other people's standards. Especially in what you enjoy. You do it for you, not for them. Fun is supposed to relax you, relieve stress, and reward you.

Dance even when you're wood. Sing even when your own cat runs away from you. Bake something, even if your attempt can only be used as a Chinese fighting muffin.

You're doing it for yourself. Explore, and push your limits and your boundaries. You don't want to stand at the starting line forever, do you? You can't learn to be better at it.

Just jump and fly, you'll grow wings later. Or you could just beat your nose in, that's part of it. But you know you haven't missed your chance to try.

P.S. You probably know her, but I have to remind her anyway. Probably the most famous woman who, figuratively speaking, flew towards her dream without having wings is Florence Foster Jenkins. An American soprano known for her flamboyant costumes and very, very poor singing skills. She's been called "the world's worst opera singer". She sang out of tune, she didn't keep her tone, and the accompaniment often had to adapt to her, but she sang anyway. And she sang like hell because she wanted to. Take her as an example. Please, not her lack of judgment, but the way she followed her dream.

Source: https://citaty.net/citaty/307904-ray-bradbury-skoc-kridla-roztahnes-cestou/