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Speak Before You're Ready
Why you should share your ideas with the world NOW
Will Greenblatt
October 26, 2023
Onstage for Remax Euro Convention 2022. I almost had a panic attack beforehand, but it went great.
When I was a first-year acting student, I was told by one of my teachers:
“Speak before you’re ready.”
In rehearsal, she observed, I was gathering my thoughts - and my courage - before saying my line.
Because of this, the tension of the moment was lost. 😐
By speaking BEFORE I felt ready, it made for a more spontaneous and interesting moment in the scene. 😲
This lesson always stayed with me.
Since becoming an entrepreneur & public speaking coach to founders, I’ve noticed this concept appear EVERYWHERE.
Business writers like James Clear and Marie Forleo have written about this concept of “START before you’re ready.”
They’ll invoke people like Sir Richard Branson, who’d tell you to:
- JOIN that gym 🏋♂️
- LAUNCH that product 💰
- TELL that person how you feel ❤️
- START writing that book ✍
I really believe in this.
Things I’VE done before I felt ready (and am so glad I did):
- Started 2 businesses
- Moved to Spain, then China
- Proposed to my now-wife
- Got a dog
- Wrote my first book
- Ran a marathon
- Released 2 music albums
- Had our first kid!
1 year ago! Ruhi turns a year old tomorrow 🤯
Because this idea helped me so much, I want to narrow it down to SPEAKING, and then expand it.
By SPEAKING in this context I mean: sharing your ideas with the world. 🌎
Written or spoken, in person or online…
SHARE YOUR IDEAS AND TELL YOUR STORY.
If you're an entrepreneur, this idea is DEFINITELY for you (though I think many other people could benefit):
You have a product or service you want to sell. Or maybe, you’re not even there yet.
You just have an idea. It’s exciting, and you know it could be something.
The problem is:
IDEAS ARE WORTHLESS.
You need other people to start and grow your business. Whether they are investors, partners, employees or customers, you NEED PEOPLE. And these people need to know who the fuck you are, and what EXACTLY you do for THEM.
The thing I hear from so many early-stage founders is: “I’m not ready yet.”
Not ready to start my business
Not ready to pitch to investors
Not ready to post content on LinkedIn
Not ready to talk about my business at social events
Not ready to go onstage and give a talk
Not ready to make videos for YouTube
In essence: not ready to SPEAK. 😢
Coaching founders 1:1 in front of a group on Zoom. A common way coaching looks for me!
Let’s think about this for a second.
What’s the FEAR here?
It’s the same one that plagues every human being who speaks in public:
“I’ll look stupid and lose status in front of my tribe.”
Back in the hunter-gatherer days, as I’ve written and spoken about many times, SPEAKING was in fact LIFE OR DEATH.
Early public speaking
If your tribe didn’t like what you said, they might KILL you. Or kick you out of the cave. Or you’d lose status, leading to less food and sex. Wack.
So for the same reason we get stage fright, we hesitate to share our ideas.
But I’ll tell you what I was told at theatre school:
“Speak before you’re ready.” 😤
You might never feel 100% confident stepping on stage.
You might never feel completely secure sharing your ideas online.
You'll probably never get rid of the butterflies that come with being vulnerable.
But I can guarantee you:
When you finally feel READY to start sharing your ideas with the world, you’ll wish you started YEARS ago.
The best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago. The second best time is now
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