Choosing a career, especially when it involves a strong passion, is arguably one of the toughest things a modern-day person can do.

We’ve all heard it before: how our parents and our parent’s parents made sacrifices in order for us to be able to pursue our dreams. That’s a lot of pressure. Especially for generations that, arguably, haven’t been shaped by hard historical events like their predecessors. How can we truly appreciate the ideas of industry, ingenuity and invention if we don’t have such experiences to draw from?

This leads me to one of the best career advices I’ve ever received — and there have been many: Do something now and make it better later.

In this day and age of comfort and security, it’s easy to coast through life using minimal effort, leaving aspirations in the rearview mirror to haunt you whenever you do decide to look back. As much as it seems like we’re surrounded by millions of young entrepreneurs, Fast Company recently published an article refuting this common belief. Although it cites huge student loans and a recent recession as two big reasons why this is the case, I believe it also has to do with a lack of urgency and risk-taking — not to mention overthinking and, of course, fear of failure.

As a writer with a privileged life and a steady job, I’ve been guilty of driving by my personal passions for resort destinations that take care of everything for me. I’ve had friends and family turn off of their predestined path in pursuit of adventure and envied them for their guts and glory. I never realized that they too didn’t have a plan, that they were just as lost as I. The only difference is that they chose to do something.

Failing to learn and get better is a good idea and all, but it’s also a scary notion not many people are willing to test drive themselves. Starting something and making it better along the way is much easier to digest. It’s inconceivable that someone could release a perfect product right off the jump. After all, nothing and no one is perfect.

For me, that means starting a blog and finally finishing a book I’ve been working on over the last five years. I just need to get it out there and mold it as I go. This shift in perspective is powerful. It helps that I’ll be able to draw on other perspectives as well in the process. By putting something out there now rather later when I feel like it’s ready, I’ll be able to get feedback from my audience to help make their experience of my work better as well. Win-win, wouldn’t you agree?

With that, I’ll leave you with something Mickey Drexler, CEO of J.Crew, recently said: “Quote of the day: The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”