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# You’ll succeed only if you’re willing to embarrass yourself
- URL: https://nestorzumaya.ghost.io/youll-succeed-only-if-youre-willing-to-embarrass-yourself/
- Published: 2026-10-15T13:40:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T13:40:09.000Z
- Author: Néstor Zumaya

“I’m not ready.” I hear this often when people ask me about how to make the move to medical writing from translation and vice versa.

I think it’s because both fields have been affected by budget redistribution, workflow changes brought by AI, overindexing on credentials, and just how difficult it is to be a freelancer these days. The advice that I usually give is specific to the person asking, but there is a thread that I really think is essential.

Start before you feel ready.

It’s very easy to make excuses: I’m not ready, I don’t know enough, and so on. 

While these feelings are valid, they are also limiting beliefs. Most of the time, you already have everything you need, but you are waiting for permission. I don’t mean permission from someone; I mean permission from some amorphous thing. It’s difficult to even realize where this feeling comes from.

But I’ve found that the only way to get over “I’m not ready” is to be willing to be bad at things, to look silly, and to say “I don’t know, but I want to try.” 

When I’m asked to work on things I haven’t done before, I don’t try to inflate my experience. Instead, I say: ”I haven’t worked on X, but I have worked on Y, and this is how I think about it.” Every time I hear myself say “I don’t know,” it feels like I’m betraying myself, like I failed, somehow. But the knowledge that I can only succeed by not being ignorant about my ignorance keeps me honest. I’ve gotten more opportunities (and gained trust) from clients for being willing to learn than from being the expert.

I watched a video from the [Westenberg podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuOqAR3CSTs&ref=nestorzumaya.ghost.io) that resonated with the ideas above. 

Doing is better than learning. Doing makes us learn through feedback. Learning (by itself) doesn’t lead to feedback.

One challenge for you this week: change your LinkedIn tagline to whatever you want to become. Please share them with me!