The first idea is almost never the right one. But it is always necessary. Here is why I intentionally let myself fail before I start.
Every project I take on, I make something bad first. On purpose.
Not as a warmup. Not as a sketch. As a full attempt — something I would never show anyone — just to get the obvious answer out of the way. Because the obvious answer is always there, waiting, and if I don't deal with it early it will follow me through the whole project like a ghost.
The wrong answer tells you what the safe version looks like. Once you know that, you can start making something real.
Most of the best work I've done came from the third or fourth attempt. Not because I got better, but because I stopped being afraid of the wrong answer. I had already made it. It already existed. There was nothing left to protect.
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