Almost ten years ago, I was on a plane to Seattle. I couldn’t sleep. Not because I was excited to visit the US, but because my mind wouldn’t stop spinning.
In a few hours, I would be on stage, giving a talk about project management. The problem? I had never done a presentation in English before.
As a Brazilian, English wasn’t natural to me. Sure, I had practiced. I knew the slides, the content, even some of the expected questions. But the doubts kept coming.
What if I don’t understand their questions? What if I mess up a word? What if they just… don’t get me?
By the time the plane landed, I was exhausted. Not from the trip, but from my own overthinking.
But deep down, I knew one thing: I had to stop worrying about how perfect my English sounded. My focus had to be on sharing my message. That was my reason for being there.
When the moment came, standing in front of that room felt overwhelming. Speaking in a foreign language, trying to connect, trying not to freeze... it was a lot.
But I reminded myself why I was there: to contribute, to share, to connect with people.
And it worked.
I did it. My English wasn’t perfect. I probably stumbled over words. But none of that mattered. The audience responded. They listened. They asked questions. They cared about the message, not the accent.
That moment taught me a simple but powerful truth: waiting to feel ready is a trap.
The perfect moment never comes. Growth happens when we act, not when we wait.
Later, I learned the concept of “identity capital” from Meg Jay’s book The Defining Decade. She explains that identity capital is the value we build through experiences that push us out of our comfort zones. That presentation in Seattle was one of those moments for me. It added to my personal identity capital because I learned by doing.
It also reminded me of something John C. Maxwell says in Failing Forward:
"The difference between average people and achieving people is how they see and respond to failure."
That presentation became one of my best teachers.
Since then, every time I face something new, I remember that day. Leading global teams, managing large IT projects, it all comes back to the same lesson. Don’t wait to feel 100% ready. You never will.
Show up. Try. Fail if needed. But show up anyway.
Another thing I learned was the importance of vulnerability. Speaking in a foreign language made me feel exposed, but it also made me human. People connected with that. Vulnerability creates authenticity. It builds trust.
Preparation also played a big role. I couldn’t stop being nervous, but practicing helped me control it. The more I prepared, the more confident I felt. I wasn’t aiming for perfection. I was aiming for connection.
That day in Seattle taught me that knowledge sharing is not about being flawless. It’s about being real, being human, and daring to show up.
Since then, I keep telling myself and others: The perfect moment is now.
So, what about you?
Have you ever faced a moment when you weren’t ready, but did it anyway?
What did you learn?
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