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This Is Why You Should Start (Even When You Don't Have It All Figured Out)

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Chase Arbeiter
May 24, 2023

Most successful people don't think too much about what they don't know yet.

When Morgan Housel was 21, he didn't know the difference between the words T-H-E-N and T-H-A-N. As he recently shared this story on The Tim Ferriss Show:

"And he said, "Hey, Morgan, do you know the difference between then and than? T-H-E-N and T-H-A-N?” And he said, "Because you used it wrong in this paragraph three times, you said then, but you meant than." And he said, "Do you know the difference?" And I said, "No. Now that I think about it, I don't. I could not explain to you when to use each one." And that was when I was 21 years old. The level I was at was so basic. I really had an eight grade education, 90 percent of which I had forgotten."

Housel, who spent his high school years training for the Olympic ski team, didn't attend a traditional high school. His level of education at 21 was, as he said, "eight grade education, 90 percent of which I had forgotten."

Ultimately, Housel went on to graduate from USC with an Economics degree and has now sold over 3 million copies of his personal finance hit, Psychology of Money.

Not bad.

Housel's story serves as a helpful reminder that we simply don't know what we don't know.

But should we let this stand in the way of what we reach for in life?

One of the many benefits of the Information Age is the level of resources available at your fingertips.

You can effectively give yourself a Master's Degree online through Youtube, online courses, and learning the skill of "googling" for answers when you're stuck without ever having to step foot on a University campus.

Every bit of knowledge you need to succeed is at your fingertips.

Except…

Your ability to take action.

To try and fail.

To work the timeless process that has separated every success story in history: Iteration.

Thomas Edison, who famously failed over 1,000 times before getting the light bulb right, reportedly said, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Most of us have something in our life we want to pursue, but we spend our time researching, studying, and preparing every angle to make sure we have it all figured out first—before, we ever start.

Preparation isn't wrong.

Preparation–without starting–is just procrastination.

We have a strong tendency to want everything in life outlined—including the obstacles that will inevitably show up—before we ever get started.

Yet, that's not how history was written.

History is written by those who courageously start, then face uncertainty, failure, rejection, loss of sales, unsuccessful marketing campaigns, economic downturns, business interruptions, and even tragedy.

Imagine if Magellan had waited for those maps of the Pacific to appear on his desk before setting sail.

Or, if Lewis & Clarke had waited for the 'right time' to explore.

Think about your favorite business or entrepreneur and whether or not their success took thousands of pivots, redirections, failed steps, and alternative paths to get to where they are today.

That's guts, man.

That's the definition of starting something, not knowing where it's going.

Everything you see around you was started by someone who only knew what they knew.

Action initiated, iteration advanced.

As Elon Musk once said, "Starting a company is like staring into the abyss and eating glass."

Aren't all endeavors?

Anything we look to push forward in life—business ideas, new marketing strategy, shedding that pesky 25 lbs., quitting a bad habit, moving past personal hurdles holding us back—takes a level of irrationality.

Who would've ever thought that a 21-year-old who didn't know the difference between T-H-E-N and T-H-A-N would become one of the top non-fiction writers in the world?

Probably, not even Morgan Housel could see that.

The truth about success and accomplishment is that the odds are only in our favor after something is accomplished.

And that should encourage us, not discourage us.

Why?

Because it shows us that having all the kinks and potential problems worked out beforehand, which is impossible, doesn't give us any more chance at success anyways.

So how do we get started on things we don't know all about yet?

Default to Action

Change your mindset to one that gets started and asks questions later.

As Joe De Sena, founder of Spartan Race, says, "Fire. Ready. Aim."

If you want to push your life, business, and goals forward, you must default to action.

Learn Fast

Author and entrepreneur Eric Ries, wrote, "The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else."

If you aren't learning, you might as well be standing still.

Be quick. Stay agile. Keep learning how to get better.

Fail Forward

Phil Knight, co-founder and legend of Nike, learned this lesson very early in his journey toward building Nike into the billion-dollar behemoth it is today. As he wrote in his memoir, Shoe Dog:

❝

"...my hope was that when I failed, if I failed, I'd fail quickly, so I'd have enough time, enough years, to implement all the hard-won lessons. I wasn't much for setting goals, but this goal kept flashing through my mind every day, until it became my internal chant: Fail fast."

Whatever you're chasing, don't be afraid to fail, make mistakes, and not be perfect.

Because on the other side of that perceived failure is a lesson to make you stronger, better, and more prepared for what comes next.

It’s hard to push things off the blocks in life, to remove the anchor that keeps us weighed down.

Accepting the challenge of taking any pursuit to the next level comes with some uncertain moments.

So don't burden yourself with what you don't know.

Start.

Get better.

Face what comes up…when it comes up.

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