First, Make It Exist

A few years ago, I spent an entire year building a course.

It was thoughtful. Complete. Well-designed. 

At least, that’s what I told myself.

Then I scrapped it.

Not because it was bad.
But because it wasn’t what the market actually needed.

I wouldn’t call it wasted time, but it was painfully clarifying.
And it taught me a lesson I keep finding myself saying lately:

 First, make it exist. Then, make it better.

What I should’ve done was make a first version exist in 60–90 days.
A minimum viable version (MVP).

Then let real people, real questions, and real use shape it.

Perfection feels like it’s being responsible. 
But often, perfectionism is just self-protection wearing a mask.

If I never put it out there, it can’t be criticized.
If I don’t launch it, it can’t fail.
And if it can’t fail, I never have to feel exposed.

Anyone?

G.K. Chesterton once said,
“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

Read that again.

Not because excellence doesn’t matter, but because beginning is the only way to get to excellence.

The real (and often hidden) problem with this narrative is that it quietly makes my work about me.

But true service requires getting my eyes off of myself and onto the people I’m meant to serve.

It takes a willingness to say, this may not be perfect yet, but it’s real, and it matters enough to begin.

Overbuilding in isolation assumes we already know everything. We don’t. 
Getting it out there early admits we still have something to learn. We do. 

This doesn’t just apply to courses or coaching.

It shows up in the system you keep tweaking,
the role you haven’t defined well enough to hire,
the book or guide you keep outlining,
the idea you keep refining in private.

Friends, I’ve learned this:
Clarity rarely comes before action.
It almost always comes after.

You have to do the thing.

I often tell my clients:
“Build the plane in the air.
First, just get it off the runway and flying.
We can add seats later.”

So here’s the question I’ll leave you with:
What have you been working on in private that needs to go public?

And a second question: how can I help?

In your corner,

Chris