Starting Scared: My Clueless Leap Into YouTube

It’s interesting, isn’t it?
The moment you decide to tackle something new — something unknown — your brain immediately serves up a buffet of fears and reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t do it.

Let me give you a personal example: I’m about to launch a YouTube channel. It’s a way to share ideas I’ve been sitting on for a while — but here’s the thing: I’m not an “expert” in this topic, instead I’m a mom on a mission.

At first, I feel that spark of excitement — but the deeper I dig in, the more overwhelmed I get. Suddenly, I realize there’s so much more to learn than I ever imagined. I’m not exactly tech-savvy, and I don’t even use social media — so that little voice in my head starts whispering: This is going to be hard.

When that voice creeps in, it brings friends:

• Do you even know enough?

• This is going to be so much work — can you really do it?

• Will people even trust what you have to say?

• How will you fit this in with everything else in your life?

• What the heck is a thumbnail — and why do you need a “hook”? What even is a hook?

• What’s a B-roll?

• How do you edit a video?

…and the list goes on.

When this happens, I’ve learned to pause. I ask myself: What’s the single most important thing I can do right now — one step — to move forward? Because overwhelm is paralyzing, but one small step can shake you free and point you in the right direction.

For me, that first step was writing video scripts. Just writing. Once I did that, I started brainstorming channel names and sketching a logo. I gave myself a launch date. I picked a day to release videos. I watched tutorials about setting up a channel and what to expect.

And I realized — yes, this is going to be hard. Why? Because I have zero experience on YouTube. And when something is unknown, it’s scary — even for adults who have plenty of experience in other parts of life.

So if you’re standing at the edge of something new, something big, something that feels overwhelming — know this: you are not alone. Take one small step today. Then another tomorrow.

Here’s to being scared — and doing it anyway.