Starting Versus Finishing

If you’ve been sitting on a big idea because the finish line feels heavy, or distant, or somehow unattainable, this is for you.

Maybe you're like me. Great at starting things. Creative. Lots of ideas. 

Finishing is the hard part though. The part that gets quiet. And that's exactly where creative people tend to stall. Not because we’re lazy, but because we’re wired to explore, connect, and reimagine… not march in a straight line.

Here's how to design finishes that work for us, without trying to "fix" our creative friction.

Transcript

I have been thinking a lot about finishing my 3 Second Selling book recently. It’s been years in the making! Unfortunately.

You see, I am very good at starting things. Ideas come easily to me. Concepts, frameworks, outlines, titles, opening lines. I can see possibilities quickly and clearly. I can spot opportunities before others even notice them. That part has never been the problem.

Finishing, however, is different.

Finishing requires a different kind of energy. A quieter one. Less adrenaline, more discipline. Fewer dopamine hits, more patience.

And if I am being honest, that is where many creative people, myself included, tend to stall. Not because we lack ability, but because we are wired to explore rather than execute.

Recently, someone said something to me that really resonated.

“The thing you think may be holding you back may actually be the thing that propels you forward.”

At first, that sounded like a motivational quote you nod at and move past. But the more I sat with it, the more uncomfortable and accurate it felt.

What if my tendency to start rather than finish is not a flaw to be eliminated, but a strength to be properly directed?

Creative character traits

Creative people are often told to “just focus,” “narrow it down,” or “stop chasing shiny objects.” There is truth in that advice, but it also misses something important. The very trait that causes us to generate more ideas than we can complete is the same trait that allows us to see connections others miss, to move early, to innovate, and to reimagine and reframe what is possible.

The problem is not that we start too much. The problem is that we expect ourselves to finish in ways that do not match how we actually work.

I have noticed something about myself. When I try to force a traditional, linear process, I resist it. I procrastinate. I lose interest. But when I reframe “finishing” as sequencing, packaging, or staging, my energy comes back.

Generating momentum

For example, my book is not just a book. It is a body of thinking that already exists across speeches, blogs, articles, podcasts, and conversations. Expecting it to emerge as a solitary, perfect manuscript is what makes it feel heavy. Seeing it as a series of completed modules that can stand on their own is what makes it feel possible.

The same is true for courses, content, and creative projects. The expectation of a single, massive finish line can be paralyzing. Smaller, visible completions create momentum. Momentum creates confidence. Confidence creates follow-through.

Another uncomfortable realization: sometimes not finishing protects us.

As long as something is unfinished, it cannot be judged. It cannot fail publicly. It cannot be rejected. Unfinished work lives in a safe, hypothetical space where it is still perfect. Finishing requires exposure. And exposure is scary, even for people who make a living being visible.

So when I say I am “bad at finishing,” what I am often really saying is that I am cautious about closing the loop.

Seen this way, the solution is not brute force willpower. It is designing finishes that feel aligned rather than threatening. Finishes that invite iteration instead of finality. Finishes that allow room for evolution.

The paradox is this: the same creative restlessness that once felt like a liability may be the engine that gets things done, if I stop fighting it and start harnessing it.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I just finish like everyone else?” the better question might be, “How do I finish in a way that fits who I am?”

That shift changes everything.

Because forward motion does not require becoming someone different. It requires better leverage of who you already are.

And sometimes, the thing you think is holding you back is not the obstacle at all.

It is the key you have just not learned how to turn yet.