George Kao argues that readiness comes after you publish, not before. He warns against endless preparation and explains why creators who are still learning can teach better than experts: they remember what confused them.
I didn't. Ready. I didn't. Yes. Like I said, I didn't feel ready to start making this video, and I don't feel ready to make any of my videos or to write any of my blog posts. But I learned something. I. I've learned something again and again and again. Is that the feeling of readiness, Ready to do this, Ready to coach this person, ready to, you know, put my work out there? Doesn't really happen until after I put it out there. It's. It's the strangest dynamic, but I've noticed it again and again and again. And I hope that you'll consider this idea for. For yourself as well. Whatever work you want to put out there, if you're not feeling ready for it, you may just need to put it out there. Because if you wait until you're ready for it, months will go by and then years will go by. And I just feel sad when I see people who want to put their work out there, but they let months and years go by because they're waiting until they're ready. They're taking another training, they are reading another book, they are going to another workshop. And the irony is that the more knowledge you gain, the more you see that there is even more you have yet to learn. And the more classes you take, the more experts you learn from, you'll see that there are experts that are even farther ahead of you. And who are you to call yourself an expert? Therefore. But here is the redeeming truth about all this. Wherever you are now is more relatable to a lot of the people that you can help. Now, there is something called the curse of knowledge. I don't know you've heard this, but this is really interesting. The curse of knowledge is when an expert has figured out the problem, has. Has gone beyond their problems so much that they have forgotten what it's like for the novice. And I have experienced this a lot. I have forgotten what it's like to be in your shoes. Because now, by now, I have made over a thousand videos. Not on Instagram yet, but most of them are on YouTube and Facebook. I have written four books, so I have forgotten what it's like before I published that first book. I have. And it's like I've moved so far beyond this that it's hard for me to. To remember what it's like for you. And so it's really, really important for you to be helping the people that are going through the same struggles that you're going through right now. You'll never fully integrate the modality or the method or the tool that you want to help people with. And what you are going through right now is actually more relatable for them because you still remember, you're still an experiencer. You still remember what it's like. And you can make the client feel seen and heard in the way that I can't. You see? So put your work out there right now because there are people who need it right now. And it's better to be in their struggle right now. You don't have to be beyond their struggle. It's better to be in their struggle right now. Because you say, I get it because I just went through that today, right? But here is how I'm. But the difference of why you can coach them, why you can mentor them, why you can teach them. The difference is that you have reflected on. You've been reflecting on that struggle more than they have because it's your job to reflect on the struggle. You've been thinking about it, you've got some insights about it. Maybe you've learned some tools that they haven't yet learned as much as you've learned. That's why you can help them. So you are perfect enough if the clients keep coming back to you, they're being helped by you, right? Or if you're wanting to teach a course, don't wait until you're the full expert on the course. No, teach the course of whatever you're learning right now in your. In your field. That's what I do. All the things I teach, I'm actually learning and researching right now. And all of you are feeling happy. What about whatever I'm teaching? Right? You are perfect enough. You are ready enough. Get out there with your work. And the other thing is, if you don't put your content out there now, you're going to forget this moment. This is such a valuable time for you right now. Otherwise you're going to forget it. So put that content out there. Talk about your struggles, Talk about your reflections, about your struggles and about any insights you're having about it, any tools you're using to. To heal yourself or to better yourself. I hope this is helpful. Go out there and just do it, all right? Be well.
