Those Who Laugh At You Have Never Done It

There’s a version of you that’s good at the thing you want to do.

Between here and there is a version that’s bad at it… and bad at it in public.

That’s the part you’re actually avoiding.

Not the work. The witnesses.

My first business card at 17 years old had my own teenage face printed on it, next to a logo I’d made in Microsoft Paint.

My first video was shot in front of a clipart background for Massive Joe’s Nutrition.

My first talk.
My first podcast.
My first attempt to lead a team.

Every one of them was bad.

Not modest-humble-brag bad… genuinely bad.

But here’s what’s worth understanding about who judges that.

Anyone who has actually done the thing looks at a beginner and sees themselves. They know what the first rep looks like, because they’ve lived it.

Which means mockery can only come from someone who has never done it.

That’s not a coincidence. That’s the entire filter.

The people qualified to have an opinion won’t laugh at you.

The people laughing at you aren’t qualified.

So when the fear of being judged shows up, look at who’s doing the judging.

Because the price of becoming good at anything is being willing to be seen before you are.

There’s no other route in.

Do the first rep. Let it be bad.

Then get better with every rep that comes after.

If you know someone who would benefit from reading this, please forward it to them. It may change the trajectory of their life for the better, and the catalyst could be you.