Episode One Is Supposed to Be Bad (And Other Excuses I Called Perfectionism)

It started with a Reddit thread. Someone was asking how to start a podcast, and I found myself typing out advice I've given a dozen times: it's not about the mic, it's about you, and there's no shortcut around sounding bad for a while. But writing that reply made me realize I'd been avoiding my own version of episode one — stalling on my own project over a logo, a color scheme, a vague sense that it wasn't "ready" yet.

This episode covers:

• Why the fear of a bad first attempt keeps people from starting anything creative
• The research on growth mindset and creative motivation — and why it matters more than talent
• Survivorship bias in "overnight success" stories
• The literal trick I used to get unstuck: tilting my screen down so I couldn't see or second-guess what I was writing
• Why perfectionism about the "frame" (branding, aesthetics, setup) is often just a more sophisticated way of avoiding the actual work

If you're sitting on an unstarted project, an unrecorded episode one, or an unfinished first draft, this one's for you.

Source:

• Han, H., & Park, D. (2025). Unlocking creative potential: The role of creative mindset on creativity.Thinking Skills and Creativity, 58, 101953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101953