Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

There are 3 reasons I’ve delayed starting this blog:

1. No one will care what I have to say.
2. Fear of imperfection.
3. The horrifying thought that someone will mistake me for a LinkedIn influencer.

However, whether I like it or not, personal branding has become increasingly valuable. Ali Abdaal, everyone’s favourite productivity “guru”, was the first to introduce me to the benefits of a personal blog, and I’ve since seen examples from colleagues and friends of it being done to an excellent and authentic standard.

As an homage—and due to an inability to think of a better structure—I’ve decided to layout this post in a similar fashion to one of Ali’s first posts that resonates strongly with me. I’ll be addressing each concern while showing myself and anyone reading why starting a blog isn’t actually that scary.

Concern 1: No one will care what I have to say

Not everyone knows what you know. There’s a common cognitive bias, the curse of knowledge, which makes people assume that others share the same knowledge as themselves. If I read a book, listen to a podcast, or research a new topic, I assume others also possess this knowledge. This is often not the case as most knowledge isn’t common.

“The more you look at 'common knowledge', the more you realize that it is more likely to be common than it is to be knowledge. No real knowledge is common.” – Idries Shah

Indeed, most people in my network still won’t care what I have to say, even if the knowledge is new. And that’s fine. People have a wide range of interests, and a mix of Product Management, Fitness, and Personal Growth is certainly a niche! If this blog connects me to others of like mind or at least 1 person finds the content useful then I consider it worth posting.

Concern 2: Fear of imperfection

Before attempting to write this post I fixed bugs no one would even notice, added functionalities to the site that I wont yet surface, and did pretty much anything else “productive” to mask my procrastination. In Product Management things are released constantly with imperfections, and failure is welcomed, yet for this blog I wanted everything to be just right before going public.

This is the same issue so many people face when wanting to start a new project or business. They learn everything they can, gather all the knowledge, and do anything but take the first real step.

So that’s what this post is, that first imperfect step.

Concern 3: Becoming a LinkedIn influencer  

While I jest, LinkedIn can be a seriously weird place, it is sometimes the worse possible extension of corporate/professional culture. Its inauthenticity has become the perfect breading ground for AI bolstered influencers to thrive.

My goal with this blog isn’t to get views, increase my engagement, or to sign people up to my paid newsletter. It’s a step towards establishing my brand and online presence: to share my thoughts and step outside my comfort zone. To do that successfully, I have to write authentically.

Closing Note

Despite these concerns, and many others, I believe there is great value and not much to lose in taking this step outside of my comfort zone.

I intend to post more about Product Management, Fitness, and Personal Growth—topics that excite me. It will be imperfect and only resonate with a select few; however, it will be authentic and offer genuine value.