We all love to romanticise starting.
The new running shoes that will finally make you a morning person. That fresh GymShark set because surely that’s what’s been holding you back at the gym. New stationery or journal to start writing down your ideas, thoughts or plots for that novel you’ve always dreamt about penning. The “perfect” team before you launch the big idea. But most good things don’t arrive perfectly packaged. They start rough, messy. And for me, generally as a scribble on a paper napkin.
My grand big idea at the start of the year to focus on a particular industry. This is the ‘pretty’ version and has still taken about six months to implement. But, it was a start.
The magic isn’t in how pretty it looks. It’s in actually doing something with it. Turning the napkin doodle into a deck. Turning the chaotic brainstorm into a pitch. Turning the “just an idea” into a thing someone can buy, join, or believe in. I absolutely love what Alice Rose Bugeja is doing with Mile Off running - it’s real, raw and amazing, and she never hides the ‘ugly’ side of quitting her job and starting a woman-focused running apparel business.
Ideas don’t need permission to exist. They need action to matter.
And honestly, the ‘ugly first draft’ thing isn’t just a work rule. It’s how I start most things in life - the slightly awkward first gym session all those years ago, the half-dead plant I’m “learning” to keep alive, and the cookie recipe that looked nothing like the photo. It’s not about lowering the bar - it’s about stepping over it without tripping on perfection.
Think of this as your permission slip to start ugly. Send the thing. Book the thing. Try the thing. Worst case, you’ve got a story. Best case, you’ve got momentum. And either way, you’re still miles ahead of everyone waiting for that ‘pretty perfection’.
M.
PS: If you are enjoying or hating these memos, just hit reply and let me know, so my rants can be adjusted accordingly :)
xx
Manuja
Not for everyone. Never was.
