Start Before You're Ready

                                                                                         

I do have a (small!) claim to fame in the history
of the Internet. In 1991, when I was a software
designer for a small company in Perth, we won a
contract to build software for an optical fibre
undersea cable system between Hong Kong and
Taiwan.

As part of that project, I spent six weeks in
Hong Kong doing the final installation and
testing of our system. It was among the most
challenging times in my work life (we regularly
worked 17-hour days), but was also very rewarding.

At the time, the main purpose of the cable was
for telephone calls. This was long before most
people had heard of the Internet. And even though
I was using the Internet myself, I had no idea
how important it would become within a decade.

--- That seems like such a long time ago! ---

Today, we take it for granted that we can go to a
Web site, click a little blue link on a page, and
instantly jump to another Web site on the other
side of the world.

In 1991 - when we were working with much more
primitive technology - that was totally unheard
of. It was a major achievement for us to just get
a single dial-up telephone connection between the
monitoring station in Hong Kong and our office in
Perth!

And although I didn't know it at the time, our
team of software developers was laying the
foundations for the Internet technology we take
for granted today. And it took an earthquake to
emphasise just how important it is.

--- So what's the point? ---

So you don't think this is just me talking about
how I single-handedly invented the Internet - I
do have a point!

You see, I remember talking to the Hong Kong
technicians at the time, and they were telling me
about the next cable they would be installing in
a few years' time. It would be faster, cheaper,
more reliable - you name it. So ... even at the
time they were laying that undersea cable, the
technology was already superseded.

So why did we bother with our slower, more
expensive, less reliable system?

Because if we had waited for the perfect time,
with the perfect technology, we would never had
started. And if everybody in the industry had
taken that attitude, we wouldn't have any
Internet at all!

And that's the point.

--- This happens OFTEN (and not just with
technology). ---

Have you ever held back from doing something,
waiting for the perfect moment? Sometimes it's
prudent, but more often it's foolish. There's
never a more perfect moment than NOW. Even if you
don't get the results you expect, you get the
experience.

So, start before you're ready. You'll thank
yourself later - whatever the outcome.

As a sequel to my story, we did install our
system, and it is still working today. More
importantly, we won contracts for the more
advanced systems as well, because of our proven
track record.

Find out more at http://gihanperera.com/achieve-
your-goals.html

About the author:
Gihan Perera is the author of "The Seven Fatal Mistakes That MostWeb Site Owners Make - And How To Avoid Them" and "Spin: Turn One Idea Into Hundreds of Information Products". Visit
http://GihanPerera.com and get your complimentary copies now.

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