The Next Best Step

You don't have to have it all figured out. Start with what's in front of you.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s this: you don’t have to have it all figured out. Just take it one step at a time.

That’s it. That’s the whole recipe.

We overcomplicate it. We put so much pressure on ourselves - what if this move is wrong? what if I’m missing something? Always trying to see 10 steps ahead. And if you’re anything like me, the weight of all those questions makes it easier to make no decision at all.

But here’s the thing: making no decision is still a decision. You are an active participant and creator in your own life. The life you want won’t just show up at your doorstep - but that doesn’t mean you need to force or control everything either. In my experience it’s a carefully crafted recipe.

The first step is getting quiet enough to actually listen. Find stillness. Perspective. Whatever gets you there. You need to hear the calls within - the real ones, the ones tied to your soul, not the surface-level wants your ego keeps pushing. Block out the noise, your own jaded stories included, and just listen. The soul has no ego. It will tell you exactly what it wants, even if it doesn’t sound grand enough to your human brain. Trust it. Don’t warp it.

The second step is having the courage to act on what you hear. It’s so easy to dismiss that little voice. It’s quiet. You can talk yourself out of it in seconds - did I really hear that? is that even realistic? The obstacles can look so large that it’s easier to just push it back down. But you’re the only one who can hold yourself accountable to that voice, because you’re the only one who can hear it. That’s a lot of responsibility. Honor it.

And one important caveat: your actions do not need to be grand. There doesn’t have to be a giant leap of faith, a glamorous hero story, or instant success. Most of the time, you won’t even know you’re doing something life-changing until after the fact. It’s the retrospect that gives it context. It’s the chain reaction your alignment sets off. It’s everything that comes after.

Let me make this real. About a year and a half ago, I made the decision to switch from sales to marketing - based on nothing more than a hunch that I wanted more creativity in my work. Simple, right? Except it wasn’t, because of all the stories I was telling myself: that I couldn’t make money or be successful as a creative, that being miserable and working endlessly was how you proved your worth, that success could only look one specific way.

I pushed past all of it and said you know what, if I don’t like it, I don’t have to stay forever. Nothing could be much worse than where I already was.

So I put out some feelers. And shortly after, an opportunity landed in my lap - a major promotion and a switch into marketing. A no-brainer. I took it, did that role for a year, and then shifted into an even more creative position, where I am now building a marketing program from the ground up. I’m more of a leader than I’ve ever been. More successful than I’ve ever been. And it’s all coming from the creative path.

If you’d asked me two or three years ago if any of that was possible, I would have said absolutely not.

There was no way to see the arc of the story when I said yes to following creativity. I genuinely believe I’m still early in it. All I’ve done - and all I’ll keep doing - is say yes to the voice within and take the next best step in front of me.

It might not look like much yet. But all the pieces will come together.

That’s your story too.