It all started with an idea that you thought was good
You knew you could do it but wondered if you should
It was a new game for you and you didn’t know the rules
And it felt like you were starting over in school
You can’t start at the top, when you’re a beginner
The competition is thick and you wish it were thinner
You must get to get to a point where you can compete
Where you are comfortable thinking on your feet
Still you think it’s worth the effort, and all the mistakes
That you know from experience you’re going to make
Your progress will be slower than you want it to be
But it always is when you are a newbie
You want to get to the point where you can connect
Where your vision and abilities intersect
This means you are going to have to practice
No way to get around employing that tactic
Oh, God, you think, there is so much to do
Oh, well, it’s just take the next bite and chew
Then swallow and start cutting off the next bite
It’s relentless and there’s very little to excite
If you had known it was going to be this fucking hard
You could have stuck with what you knew and by now be a star
And that’s when you realize that that is your clue
What you already know will be your best glue
Take your new idea and let it have sex
With what you already know and then have your next
You don’t have to start at zero and learn a new field
It’s your unique perspective that’s going to reveal
A new way of looking at the problems you solve
If you can just let your ideas have freedom to evolve
If you can just keep your ego out of the way
And let your ideas have enough room to play
Well, that was a classic rookie mistake
You think as you finally feel wide awake
Your vision is clearing, your mind is not blurry
You realize, in your excitement, you started too early
Have plenty of ideas but let them have time to grow
And always leverage what you already know
Don’t you love it when you stumble on some excellent lessons
And perhaps more importantly some really good questions
Photo by Dainis Graveris via Unsplash
