Karen and I had the pleasure of attending Podcasters Across Borders a couple of weeks ago and the keynote speaker’s message (Scott Florence) really resonated with me.

Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, try to fail.

What?! Why would I try to fail?

Because sometimes if you don’t take a risk, if you don’t throw yourself out into the unknown and do something you know you may be perfectly horrible at, you won’t do anything wonderful at all.

Does that make sense? And are you wondering why I’m talking about it here?

Don’t let the fear of doing it “right” stop you from doing it at all

Do you want to start a blog? Do it!

Do you want to start making videos? Do it!

Do you want to write a book? Do it!

If you decide that what you produce doesn’t have to be perfect, you may just create a masterpiece. And even if you don’t create a masterpiece, if what you created was really not very good at all? You will be better next time.

Walking the talk

Karen and I recorded our first video this week. Is it great? Not really. Is it ok? Absolutely. Will we be better next time? I’d like to think so.

Karen and I have committed to starting a podcast. This petrifies me. Will I make jokes nobody will get? Will I say ummmm over and over. Will absolutely nobody enjoy it?

I’ve decided it doesn’t matter. I’m going to try and assume the first episode isn’t going to be all that great. I’m walking out of my comfort zone to create new content.

A few suggested leaps for you

- Write a guest post for someone else’s blog. It will get your feet wet for blogging.

- Create a video for just your family and friends. Practice in a safe setting.

- Don’t reinvent the wheel. Take something you admire and change it to make it your own.

What will you attempt to fail at this week?

Here is part of Scott’s keynote from the conference. (DISCLAIMER: there’s swearing)