Sometimes a client will come to a call with an excited, nervous energy, tinged with fear and dread. They’ll say something like, “I have this idea, but it feels a little crazy,” or “Is it too much to think about this right now?” They’re sitting on a big dream—something that seems too good to be true, too far off, or maybe just too risky to even consider. But that dream keeps coming up because something about it is core to who they are.

This is where the real fun begins. I love being able to help someone see that their impossible dream is possible.

Maybe you have a dream like that bouncing around in the back of your head. It’s that idea you’re almost afraid to think about, the one that lights you up but also seems a little too big for your hands to hold. Truthfully, it scares you. If so, I’d like to invite you into a conversation about how we might take that impossible idea and start making it real.

Start with the beginner’s mind.

When I’m trying something new, something I’m not even sure is possible, I find it helpful to lean into a beginner’s mind. I want to be curious, not critical. Letting go of assumptions and withholding judgment about what will or won’t work. That voice telling you it’s “too big” or that you “can’t do it” can be ignored for now!

This frame of mind means I’m open to learning from everyone and everything. I’ll scour bookshelves for insights, search YouTube and podcasts for experts, and learn from anyone who can teach me something. Digging in and learning often fuels my excitement and helps me to see the outline of what success might look like.

This is not just about passive learning for me. It’s incredible how many times I’ve connected with a podcaster, a YouTube creator, or an author just by reaching out and asking a genuine question about their work. People have always been incredibly generous with their time and knowledge.

The learning trap

There’s always another book to read or podcast to listen to. At some point, you have to start putting things into the world.

Earlier this year I was developing some new material I’d been working on with clients. I wanted to see if it would be valuable to a wider audience. I spent weeks meticulously reworking the landing page and the agenda, trying to find the perfect words and the ideal structure. Two months went by, and the webinar still wasn’t on the calendar. I was stuck in the “learning” and “preparing” stage, afraid to get it out there.

At some point, we have to stop researching and start doing. So I finally just stuck a date on the calendar, knowing that having a firm date would force me to get the content ready, even if it wasn’t perfect.

The smallest next step

When you move from learning to doing, the key isn’t to build the whole thing at once. Instead, I invite you to look for the smallest steps you can take that feel like a real move forward.

What’s an experiment you could run? What’s a simple test you could try? I especially like to focus on the riskiest parts of the project. If this idea is going to fail, let’s let it fail fast. What’s the one thing I could try that would tell me if this even has a chance of working? I want to do that thing first.

Forget about scale, for now.

In these early phases, I try not to worry at all about whether what I’m doing can scale. I’ve seen many clients get caught up in the idea that they must build the ultimate solution to the problem from the start. They feel like they need a fancy website with a complete sign-up and checkout process that costs a fortune.

But you don’t. You can talk to people on the phone and take orders. You can use a simple, manual prototype that doesn’t work perfectly behind the scenes. This stage isn’t about building the final, polished product; it’s about getting started and getting feedback. If the idea starts to scale, you can always invest in automation later.

I know someone who built a successful consulting practice using a Google Slides presentation as his website (hosted on a redirected URL) and sent a Google Doc link as his “monthly newsletter.” You don’t have to be polished to start!

Making these early steps more straightforward helps you maintain momentum so that you “fail fast” before you’ve expended too much time and money.

Get real feedback

During this prototype process, it’s critical to get feedback from the kind of people you want to impact. How can you attract a genuine customer who’s willing to invest real money? How can you talk to your ideal customer and watch their eyes light up, or—just as importantly—watch their eyes glaze over?

That feedback is the most critical fuel for your energy and for steering your project. It helps you see whether you’re creating something that pleases you, or something that truly satisfies a customer, too.

Finally, remember that accomplishing something significant often takes a long time. It’s useful not to have a rigid timeline in your head. While you want to move as quickly as possible, it’s likely taking longer than you think. And when it does, discouragement over the pace of progress can kill a project.

So, I’ll ask you again: What’s that dream bouncing around in the back of your head? Is there something you want to accomplish, create, or develop that you never thought was possible?

When the world is changing rapidly around you, taking the “safe” route might be the riskiest thing you can do.