You don’t have to be ready – just go.

So, a few days ago, I ended up donating a ton of my old books to the public library. The great thing about cleaning out your bookshelf is you are forced to make decisions about what’s important and what isn’t. Once book I kept was Loral Langemeier’s The Millionaire Maker.

Langemeier’s work is great because she provides a rough draft on how to start a business. But it’s framed more in the language of easy to read personal finance literature and less from the standpoint of a dry business text. So, I kept it around because it serves a good review and occasional source of inspiration.

One thing she says, which makes a lot of sense is: you don’t have to be ready to start a business, just do it. This resonates for me because a lot of people don’t take action to improve their finances.

I see this a lot in my peers. For example, when I talk to my friends about starting a small business or buying a house or investing in stocks, most of them immediately start to find a bunch of reasons for why they aren’t ready. Usually its something like “well I need to research it more” or “ I need more savings” or “stocks and real estate are risky”, etc. etc. This is a shame because most of the people I know who are aren’t willing to take action to improve their fiscal bottom line also tend to be poorer. Thus, by waiting until they are 100% ready, then tend to deny themselves important opportunities for wealth creation.

Bottom line: whether it’s starting a business, paying off debt or investing in stocks. You don’t have to 100% ready, just go do it.

Best,

James