Your success depends on the risks you take. Your survival depends on the risks you avoid. - James Clear

In the beginning, your skills are raw, your knowledge is sparse, and you lack experience. At best, you will be able to produce work that is "just okay." And even then, you'll only manage to reach "just okay" by giving your best effort.

Nobody wants to produce something that is "just okay." You'll feel like it's beneath your standards. You'll worry about what others think of you. You'll wonder whether you would be better off taking a different path. But it is impossible to reach that stage unless you are willing to work through your current stage.

And so, one of the main obstacles between who you are and who you could be is courage. The courage to keep trying even if you're not yet as good as you hope. The courage to keep trying despite your fears of what others may think. The courage to keep trying without knowing how the future will unfold.

Your great work is on the other side of your early work. The only way to be exceptional later on is to have the courage to be "just okay" right now. This is how it is for everyone.

The grass is only greener if you're obsessed.

It's easy to talk yourself into a new opportunity because everyone else is excited about it or the upside seems high, but the energy that comes from hype is different than the energy you need to make something part of your daily lifestyle.

It might be a good opportunity on paper, but if it isn't the type of thing you want to spend all day working on, then you probably won't stick with it. And if you won't stick with it, then it's not a good opportunity for you.

You can attract luck simply by telling people what you are working on.