A meditation on when to start your big project

I love this advice from Alan Watts to aspiring writers...

Advice? I don't have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you're writing, you're a writer. Write like you're a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there's no chance for a pardon. Write like you're clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you've got just one last thing to say, like you're a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God's sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we're not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don't. Who knows, maybe you're one of the lucky ones who doesn't have to. -Alan Watts
If you think you want to do something, then get started on it. 

There is no point in waiting for permission... no one is authorized to grant it. 

There is no point in waiting for perfection... you may never get there -- and for the lack of perfection, your flame may never shine. 

There is no point in waiting for the timing to be right... there is always an excuse, but it's never as good as you at your best. 

You want to do a thing? Do it. 

Don't wait for it to be authorized. That will come later. 
Don't wait for it to be perfect. You can fix it as you go. 
Don't wait for the right time. The right time is almost always right now.

About Phil Yanov

Phil Yanov is a Technologist, Columnist and Public Radio Commentator.

He is the founder of Tech After Five as well as the founder and President of the GSA Technology Council and the IT Leadership Council.

His personal technology column appears in Greenville Business Magazine and the Columbia Business Journal.

He co-hosts the Your Day technology shows heard on NPR radio stations across South Carolina and is a frequent contributor to technology stories appearing on radio and television.