It probably wont work

I listen to a lot of interviews and read a lot of personal stories. Mostly from business owners or creatives, since I have one foot in each of those worlds.

And it’s amazing how every one of their stories follows the same plot: They tried. They failed. They tried again.

The difference isn’t that they were smarter, more talented, or better connected; it’s that they kept taking action. Failure wasn’t a stop sign, it was a stepping stone.

Before Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse, he was fired from a newspaper for “lacking imagination”. Oprah was told she was “unfit for TV”. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

We all know these stories — but it’s easy to treat failure like the end of the road instead of what it really is… A toll booth.

Just the thought of failure stops a lot of agency owners. Instead of going for it, we spend ages planning, tweaking, weighing pros and cons, and trying to get things perfect before we dip our toes in the water.

But the truth is, no matter how long you plan, it will never be perfect. It probably won’t work the first time.

You’re not going to plan your way to success, you have to earn your way there by trying, failing, adjusting, learning, and iterating. Whether you’re Oprah or {name}.

Sitting on the sidelines might make you feel safe, but it’s where ideas die.

The sooner you try, the sooner you make the mistake.

The sooner you make the mistake, the sooner you’ll understand the lesson.

The sooner you understand the lesson, the sooner you’ll crack the code.

If you’ve been putting off your next move because you’re scared it won’t work — it probably won’t. But the lessons you’ll learn in your attempts are the toll you have to pay in order to reach your destination.