Firsts - don't be afraid.

// Avril Lavigne

Chill out, what ya yellin' for?
Lay back, it's all been done before
And if, you could only let it be, you will see
I like you the way you are.

The opening four lines to Avril Lavignes song 'Complicated' - I was listening to it on the way to the beach on Friday morning and whilst my kids are too young (can you believe it's 22 years old that song) to remember it, I was singing along happily and then it hit me.

Everything's been done before and I may have said this previously but the way you deliver something is the unique part.

// Firsts

Firsts can feel heavy.

They can feel like this impossible thing that you have to get absolutely right. But the reality? It’s all been done before. The pressure we put on ourselves to be original, to stand out, to nail it on the first attempt - it’s all just noise. Because no one’s first attempt at anything is ever perfect, and no-one ever says that it needs to be.

Every first video, first blog, first pitch, first business - it’s all been done before.

And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t let it scare you. There’s no mysterious path that hasn’t been walked. No hidden formula that only the successful people know. The difference between those who make progress and those who don’t? They start.

They do the thing, knowing full well it won’t be perfect, and they get better because of it. Everyone does it.

// Originality

We get caught up in thinking that we have to be groundbreakingly original - I'm doing it at the moment with some videos I want to record - I can see the trends to make short form videos in a certain way but let’s be honest - how much of what we consume is actually 100% new? There are iterations of iterations and suddenly, everything looks the same (until it doesn't and then everyone copies that)

Every story borrows from another. Every song is inspired by something that came before it. Even the biggest brands in the world weren’t first. They just did something slightly different, added their own voice, their own take - it's how we suddenly have a flurry of 'Liquid Death' copycats.

And that’s all you need to do - put your own spin on it.

Your first blog doesn’t need to be revolutionary because mine certainly wasn't (I'd urge you to go and dig it out and read it), your first video doesn’t have to be Oscar-worthy, and your first business idea doesn’t need to be world-changing but it just has to happen.

Because the real magic isn’t in being the first to do something - it’s in doing it at all.

// A Step

People don’t remember your first attempt (unless you point to the first blog you wrote and get them to read it). They remember what you built over time.

There is no one sitting around analysing your first blog post from years ago because you're only as good as your last performance. Last week, I played football as I always do on a Monday night and I had one of the games of my life, every shot, every flick and pretty much every pass was what I had in my mind - nothing was off. This week, I know it won't be as good but the others around me and those who play football with me will only remember last weeks performance and not the bad ones in the past - it's all about how people remember you now.

No one cares if your first video had shaky audio. No one is looking at your first online webinar and thinking, “Wow, that was amateur.” They’re too busy worrying about their own stuff.

The only way to get to the thing that people do remember - the great video, the impactful blog, the business that actually works - is by getting through the first rough versions and being consistent with it. The one and done approach just doesn't work.

Look at anyone you admire. Every single one of them had a messy first. The difference? They didn’t let it stop them.

// The Fear

The real thing stopping you isn’t ability - it’s the fear of looking like a beginner.

I feel EXACTLY the same - whenever I 'do a video' - I second guess it because I think that people expect a certain standard but no one expects you to be amazing at something you’ve never done before. If anything, you'll be respected as the one who put themselves out there, who is actually trying and who is embracing the process instead of waiting to be perfect.

Imagine if every successful creator, entrepreneur, writer, or speaker had waited until they were ‘ready.’

We’d have nothing.

No books, no businesses, no music, no ideas. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who avoided looking like beginners. They’re the ones who accepted that looking like a beginner is just part of the deal.

// Progress

Let me try and ram this home a little - think about learning to ride a bike. No one just gets on and effortlessly pedals away without wobbling. There are stumbles, falls, scraped knees. But after a while, it becomes second nature (I hope so anyway as I'm about to start riding to the new Yammayap office)

The same goes for anything - writing, filming, selling, creating. It’s the repetition that builds confidence and skill, not the avoidance of failure.

If you look back on your firsts and don’t cringe a little, you probably waited too long to start. You were too cautious, too obsessed with getting it right. But when you embrace the process, the learning curve becomes part of the fun. You start to enjoy the trial and error, rather than seeing it as a reason to quit.

Your first doesn’t have to be ground-breaking. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be good. It just has to exist.

Everything has been done before - but not by you. And that’s what makes it worth doing.

// The Challenge

What’s something you’ve been putting off because you think it won’t be good enough? A blog? A video? A business idea?

Do it. Make the messy first version. Hit publish. Put it out into the world. And then move on to the next.

Because firsts don’t have to be perfect. They just have to happen.