Comics spend a lot of time waiting.

Waiting for somebody to give them an opportunity. Waiting to have the time or resources available to put into getting better. Waiting to get picked.

But waiting doesn’t get you closer to succeeding. Starting does.

If you feel like you’re guilty of doing a little too much waiting, here’s a few things you might want to think about to start figuring things out and advancing your career.

Don’t Expect To Get It Right The First Time

The first thing you need to do is break from the mindset that you need to get something right the first time you do it. Whether it’s the first time you tell a joke, write a blog post, record a podcast, ask people to join your email list, or just about anything else you try to do, the chances are you will not get it right the first time you do it.

You’ll fail. And that’s fine.

It’s easy to paralyze yourself by thinking you need to do something right the first time you do it. Instead, accept the idea the idea that things probably won’t go as planned initially but recognize that the sooner you have a first time, the closer you are to getting something right.

Action Is ALWAYS Better Than Inaction

One of the best career tactics you can employ is to focus on being active as much as possible and to avoid being inactive. You want to be somebody who constantly does things, tries things, and pushes forward as opposed to somebody who forever plans and dreams without actually doing much of anything.

It can feel scary and risky to take action sometimes, but action is always better for your career than inaction. Even a step in the wrong direction can teach you lessons that ultimately help you move forward. If you stand still, you’ll never get anywhere.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Once you’ve broken from the false premise that you need to succeed the first time you do something and once you’ve embraced the importance of action over inaction, the next thing to do is focus on learning from your mistakes.

There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes…unless you keep making the same ones.

When something you try doesn’t work out, analyze the reasons why and make adjustments. You want to experiment and learn as much as you possibly can from your mistakes – that’s how you get better and ultimately how you further your career.

Mistakes are opportunities. Think of them that way and you’ll be well on your way to figuring things out.

Good luck!