I’mm Ready

Alright, here’s a challenge.

I’m going to try to deliver you an insane level of inspiration in under one minute…

ChatGPT told me the average adult can read 238 words per minute. But you, my average reader, are smarter than the average adult. I bet you can read at 350 words per minute (’cause you’re special).

I’ve only got 298 words left! Let’s boogie.

12 months ago today: September 16, 2024, 9:15 a.m. I couldn’t bring myself to do any work. I wasn’t excited to work on a life-saving product, the one I used to stay alive every single day. Two hours go by, it’s 11:15 now. I updated one word in a PowerPoint slide header. One word, in two hours?

I felt brain dead. Was this burnout?

Turns out, people were starting to notice I couldn’t bring myself to do any tangible form of work. I got put on a performance improvement plan (embarrassing, I know).

Was this my sign? Was it officially time to take the leap? Maybe if I saved up a little more money, I could wait it out until the end of the year. Then I’d be ready.

Was an extra 5k in my bank account going to make me more ready to leave my job? Yeah, that’s bullshit. I’d been telling myself for 11 months I wanted to start a business, and I had barely anything to show for it. Maybe once I was making 2k/month from something I’d feel more comfortable taking the leap.

Yep, still bullshit.

No amount of cash flow or milestones was going to make me feel “ready” to leave my job. It was just a story I kept telling myself: “I’m not ready.” I wasn’t ready to leave my job. I was never going to be. Being “ready” is just something you tell yourself in your head.

The only epiphany I had was realizing I literally couldn’t bring myself to do my job anymore. I wasn’t ready. But I knew it was time to do something.

So I picked a date (that aligned nicely with pay cycles and health insurance coverage) and told my friends (and my mother). I was quitting by the end of October. I held myself to it.

Once I said it out loud, it became real. I had to be as close to “ready” as possible by then, because I had no other choice. I was going to have to figure out how to make things work starting November 1.

I’ve learned anything from being around successful people, it’s that life rewards those who act quickly.

So next time you’re thinking, “Do I share this post?” “Do I approach that person across the room?” or “Am I ready to leave my job?”

Remember this: you don’t get ready, you get moving.

Action creates clarity. Action builds confidence. Action is the only thing that will ever make you feel “ready.”

Take the step, then figure the rest out.

You’re Awesome,

Jared

(153 words over, but whose counting)

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