The Lie That Destroys More Dreams Than Fear

The Myth of ‘Ready’

He kept telling himself, “not ready yet.”
Not ready to launch.
Not ready to commit.
Not ready to risk looking stupid.

So he researched instead.
He “prepared.”
He told people he was planning, strategizing, fine-tuning.

And the truth is, it felt productive. It felt safe.
Scrolling for inspiration looked like work.
Rewriting the plan felt like progress.
Waiting for the “perfect moment” felt smart.

But it wasn’t. It was hiding.

And then one day he looked up and realized years had disappeared.

Not because he was lazy.
Not because he lacked talent.
But because he kept outsourcing his future to a version of himself that never arrived.

Fear didn’t kill his dreams.
That lie did.

Why This Lie Is So Convincing

Fear is loud, obvious. But the “not ready yet” lie is quiet—and it sounds reasonable.

It whispers: “Wait until you’re more experienced. Wait until it’s safer. Wait until you’re certain.”

But readiness is a moving target. The more you prepare, the more flaws you see, the more excuses you invent. You never arrive.

The Truth About Readiness

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
You don’t get ready first. You get ready while.

Clarity comes mid-stride, not before you take the first step.
Confidence comes after a hundred shaky reps, not before you begin.
Courage comes after the decision, not before it.

Every person you admire built their “readiness” in public, not in private. They moved messy. They figured it out as they went.

(Meanwhile, I had a black belt in rearranging my to-do list and calling it progress.)

How to Break the Lie

1. Shrink the risk.
   Instead of waiting until the project is perfect, launch the smallest version you can tolerate. A blog post instead of a book. A conversation instead of a speech.

2. Set a deadline you can’t wiggle out of.
   If it stays in your head, it stays in “someday.” Make it public. Put money on it. Tell a friend to hold you accountable.

3. Expect the mess.
   You will stumble. You will cringe. That’s not proof you weren’t ready—it’s the price of becoming ready.

Final Thought

Fear might stop you for a moment. But “not ready yet” will stop you for a lifetime.

The biggest lie isn’t that you’re scared. It’s that you need to wait until the fear goes away.

It won’t. And it doesn’t have to.

So move. While trembling, while uncertain, while half-prepared.
That’s how readiness is built.

— Linford

P.S. If you’re telling yourself “not ready yet,” consider this your deadline: Friday. Take one step.
And on Monday, I’ll share the story of the first time I forced myself to move before I was ready—what happened next might surprise you.