You’ve probably heard the quote “Leap and the net will appear.” Imagine if we collectively started leaping with abandon, trusting that nets would magically materialize beneath us. While I appreciate the conviction of this sentiment, I’d tweak it slightly: “Research, plan, do the hard work, and leap before you are certain you’re ready.”
As the saying goes, the only certainties in life are death and taxes. If you wait for perfect clarity or assurance that your direction is the “right” one, you’ll miss the boat. Certainty doesn’t exist.
The good news is, if you follow my advice to research, plan and work hard before leaping, you already have a metaphorical net in place—one that you’ve been weaving and strengthening through your preparations.
This net represents the confidence you’ve built through preparation and hard work. It’s your safety net—not for avoiding risk, but for knowing you’ve done the groundwork to land on your feet. You can trust it to hold you when you take that leap.
That said, a word of caution: avoid falling into the trap of over-preparing. Some people spend their entire lives stuck in preparation mode, endlessly perfecting, researching, and tweaking. Or, perhaps more accurately, wasting their lives.
At some point, preparation must give way to commitment and action. The truth is, progress doesn’t come from planning alone. It comes when you commit to a path and start moving forward.
