
The first step is to start - jp_sc
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2538-the-first-step-is-to-start
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patio11
Strong agreement. You learn a lot more by doing than by fantasizing about
doing some day. You'll also get a lot more mileage out of your book (or web)
learning with just a little practical experience. I guarantee you, within 2
weeks of hanging out your shingle you'll have a radically different, improved
perspective on where your actual business challenges are. (The stupid, detail-
oriented mechanics of business like "charge customers' credit cards" and
"incorporate" and "do bookkeeping" paralyzed me for so long prior to actually
starting. It turns out that these matter so much less than e.g. marketing it
isn't even funny, for my business at least.)

My one suggestion: get a mentor. Plumb them for advice. Thomas has taught me
more about consulting (beginning with "You know, you could do consulting.") in
three minute chunks than I managed to learn in my entire life, even in six
years while employed by businesses which did consulting.

~~~
mortenjorck
I hate to admit it, but trepidation at the "incorporate and do bookkeeping"
part is exactly my roadblock. Paralyzing is an apt description. What was it
that finally got you around it?

~~~
jasonkester
You could just not do it.

I've been in business for the better part of 10 years without incorporating or
doing bookkeeping beyond a quick 20 minute Excel session at tax time.

My theory is that as long as everybody else keeps good books, I don't have to.
The bank has just as much interest in remembering what happened to my money as
I do, and frankly they're better at it than me. When I need to know, I look it
up.

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pcestrada
And the next step is to finish what you start, no matter what. Andre LaMothe,
founder of xgamestation, a video game development kit company, and author
numerous programming books including "Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus",
describes how he motivates himself. I've always found this quote inspirational
when I lose steam on a project:

"Hmm, that's a hard question. I guess that the best answer is that by the time
you are old enough to understand that you are NOT going to be a rock start or
a unique, beautiful snowflake, it will be too late. Lack of motivation
fundamentally comes from fear -- you are afraid to do things since you don't
think you can do them internally -- which is 99% true.

However, the good news is that if you REALLY try to do anything, there is
nothing that you can't do within reason of course. So my suggestion is simple
and basically how I start anyone I mentor -- start with ANYTHING that you want
to do, something small. Then start it, work on it everything single day until
its done, I don't care if you are sick, haev to work, goto school, your
girlfriend wants to do something, whatever, just work on it everyday -- at
some point you will get to a point where you find your own mental limits, this
is usually the point where every single person quits and then sells themselves
the bullshit concept, "I could finish it if I wanted"-- this is crap, the fact
is THEY can't finish it, but this is just the moment of transformation -- now,
here is where you are going to triple your efforts, read whatever you need to
read, and finish it, no matter what -- And if you don't think this advice is
true I have heard it personally from every single iconic computer person on
the planet -- the key to success is so simple -- just finish everything.

You will never become motivated, until you don't need to become motivated then
you will be motivated, hard to explain, but that's the way it works --

Additional, arguement -- what are you doing anyway? If you aren't 10x smarter
than everyone now, how will you compete in 10-20 years? Imagine the math,
physics, computer science, nanotech, biotech, etc. that will be common then --
thus, you better get crackin! There is so much work to be done and no time to
do it -- if you are less than 40 and aren't working at least 15-18 hours a day
you are not working enough, you simply can't compete with the best in the
world unless you are willing to throttle it that much --

NeCroN.TTL "

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steveklabnik
As an interesting counterpoint, I often find myself with the exact opposite
problem: I start too often. It's to the point now where I have 4 or 5 active
side projects, and then I think of something else cool that I want to build...
and then it's hard to actually work on and continue with them, especially
after the 'fun stuff' of the initial creation is over.

~~~
joedynamite
I feel the same way. I am far too often starting a new project, or coming up
with new random ideas. I put things aside and have to work hard at finishing
them. I think starting is the easiest part, and finishing is the skill that
needs to be preached.

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dabent
"You probably don’t even know what skills you need, so don’t worry about it.
Start with what you already know."

For my first startup, I created the whole site from scratch. I had developed
software for years and thought I had a pretty good handle on things.

I did know _some_ things, but was surprised by how many gaps there were in my
knowledge. Coding something from the front end all the way to the back was a
great way to learn.

That's not to mention the business and legal knowledge I gained. There's so
much involved in even getting a small project going, that you can really only
learn by doing.

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techiferous
Good advice.

My only word of caution is to know what you're getting into. Programming is
hard. It doesn't mean you can't do it, that you shouldn't try, or that
starting is hard, it just means that it will take a lot of time and practice
to do it well--and beginners tend to underestimate this.

And another thing: if your primary reason for wanting to build a web app is to
make money, that's fine, but make sure that you enjoy the process of creating
as well. If you end up not enjoying the programming side and seeing it as
merely a means to an end, you won't be able to do it well.

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hkuo
Great simple advice. Nike sums it up even shorter with "Just do it." And if
you read between the lines, it says "Don't think." I'm not saying don't think
at all of course, but one of the biggest things that keeps someone from
getting started is overthinking. Overthinking what's needed, how much, how
hard, what will happen if this, or that, when's the right time, what if it's a
waste of time, and on and on.

Their second piece of advice that they infer in the article is the best way to
learn is by doing. Because that's another big obstacle to starting, believing
one is not prepared to get something done, and that the person just needs to
learn a bit of knowledge before he or she gets started. Just start and learn
along the way. How else did we learn how to walk when we were babies?

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RBr
Is life about repetition and habits? I think so and I think that's the
underlying factor to messages that convey "just start doing it" and almost any
other self-help type message out there. Get into a routine, figure out what
works, goto 10.

It's not a huge secret and it's one of those simple things that people often
overlook.

Personally, I like Jerry Seinfeld's method of productivity. Define tasks that
contribute to a goal and every day that you contribute, physically mark it off
on a calendar.

<http://robisit.com/9r>

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durbin
I love the drawing on the right side of the brain reference, one of my
favorite books. <http://www.drawright.com/>

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crcarlson
I think this is great advice. Part of perseverance is not letting anyone else
tell you what you can not do but even more important is not telling yourself
what you cannot do.

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petercooper
This is why many famous creatives are or were heavy alcohol or drug users
(it's almost a running joke about journalists). These vices help shut out the
critical voices for some people, for a while at least.

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macco
What I really liked: "Start with what you already know". I think this is very
smart

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bond
You have to start if you want to accomplish anything. Never mind you don't
have the skill, or it would take too long to come up with something
meaningful...

Just do it!

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TotlolRon
> _Don’t worry about what you need to know in order to finish a project, you
> already have everything you need to start._

Oh. Do worry. Worry much. Because the time you spend down a road that leads
nowhere may not be worth what you learn on the way there.

~~~
chc
That is a major pain, but the alternative — doing nothing — is an even worse
use of your time. If you're fairly competent and resourceful, you're more
likely to talk yourself out of doing something than you are to run into a dead
end halfway through. And even if you do find that you truly can't finish, does
that put you in a worse place than if you'd spent the time watching CSI?

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chadmalik
There seem to be two models to success in a field: learn as a youth or learn
once you are an adult. These two approaches are equally valid from what I have
seen.

