You Know Enough.
It took me years of books, courses, podcasts and notes to figure that out.
I have a bit of an obsession. I am obsessed with learning and specifically, all the “stuff” that comes along with it: books, podcasts, YouTube videos, online courses, social media videos, photography conferences.
As a child of the pre-internet 1900s, I would often park myself in front of the World Book encyclopedias and the colorfully spined Childcraft books in our family room. I’d pull them down from the shelf one by one just to read and learn. I have always been endlessly curious.
And this curiosity spans all kinds of subjects: writing, photography, travel, cooking, online business, marketing, video-editing, health, exercise, personal growth, gardening, interior design, etc. etc.
While I have made great headway unpacking since our recent move, I still have two huge unpacked boxes of books in my office. I don't have anywhere to put the books but I’m not quite ready to part with them. I may read them one day. I might learn something important from them.
However, if I’m honest with myself, I’ve found that despite all the hours I spent “learning,” I often didn’t have much to show for it. My pile of notes kept growing. I kept adding to my book pile, my “watch later” YouTube list, my “up next” podcast list—watching and listening but not actually doing much with it.
Eventually I realized that all that learning was teaching me something else.
By telling myself I still had more to learn, I never had to start. Because starting meant being seen starting small. Being a beginner. Making mistakes in public. Opening myself up to other people’s opinions.
It was much safer to keep learning.
In one of those online courses I purchased, and actually finished, the instructor addressed this exact issue like she was talking straight to me.
“You know enough. You don’t need to learn anymore. You have the expertise.
Print out all your notes from all the courses or podcasts or videos you’ve consumed and use what you already know to take the next step.”
So, a few years ago, I followed her advice. I dug out old hard drives, thumb drives, folders, journals and notebooks and started printing. I gathered the pages worth keeping, sorted them into categories with color-coded sticky notes, and put them in a 3-inch binder left over from my kids’ school days.
And when it was all done, I stood back and admired my masterpiece which I aptly named The Blue Binder.
For me, September 1st is my New Year.
I get a huge boost of energy watching all the kids go back to school. Come January 1st, I’m simply too worn out from the holidays to do any real planning.
Which is why I find myself prepping for my September 1st New Year in August. New sharpened pencils, a new planner, new extra-fine Sharpie pens, new deadlines penciled in beside my goals.
August is also the time I go back and read through The Blue Binder. It gives me the confidence to keep going. To know where I'm headed and what my next steps forward are, even if nobody else quite understands why those steps matter so much to me.
It’s the reason I finally started this newsletter. The reason you’re reading this right now.
And what more I need to learn, I’ll learn along the way.
So if you’re like me and you’ve got years of learning tucked away toward something you want to accomplish, maybe it’s time to gather up some of the notes that mattered most. Or all of them, if you’re feeling ambitious.
Just something that reminds you, yes, you know enough to begin.
Cheers,
Carrie
PS: I wrote about The Blue Binder back in May and talked about setting up encouraging reminders throughout the day. I have found that pairing The Blue Binder's reminder of what I know paired with the “you-can-do-it” reminders are the perfect combination to keep me moving forward.
The more life I live, the more I understand how precious our time is. What even a few minutes is worth. It doesn't go unnoticed that you spend some of your day here with me. Thank you for letting me be a small part of it. I hope you always leave with something meaningful.🤍☕️