Act Anyway

...make being cringe cool again

When I first decided I was going to start creating consistently, I didn’t tell anyone. Not because I wasn’t serious, but because I was embarrassed.

I remember setting up my phone on a stack of books in my room. No tripod. No fancy lighting. Just daylight fighting through the window and me trying to sound like I knew what I was doing.

I recorded the first video three times.

The first take felt awkward.
The second felt forced.
The third felt tolerable.

I watched it back and cringed.

My voice sounded unsure. My body language was stiff. I over-explained everything. I almost didn’t post it…

and that moment right there is where most dreams quietly die.

Not in failure, or lack of talent, but in embarrassment.

We don’t quit because we can’t do it, we quit because we don’t want to look stupid doing it.

So for the rest of this year, I want us to collectively come together as a community to make being cringe cool again, because somewhere along the way, we became too polished to grow. We became too self-aware to experiment, too concerned with perception to actually begin.

We’re scared of posting the imperfect idea, scared of starting before we’re good, and scared of being seen trying in public. So we overthink, we delay, and we stay quiet.

Not because we lack potential, but because we don’t want to look ridiculous.

Here’s what most people won’t tell you.

Every confident person you admire was once awkward.

When I started showing up online in 2017, there were already people ahead of me. People who looked sharper, more prepared, and more “ready,” and I could have easily convinced myself it was too late.

Instead, I spent three years being cringe, and I mean that sincerely.

In 2019, I decided to level up that cringe by interviewing people. I didn’t have a polished studio, or a production team. All I had was a phone, a mic I got as payment for some design project I did for an upcoming artist, a DIY paper lantern light, and belief.

After eight months of doing this consistently, I did one interview that validated my feelings of being cringe, but acting regardless.

Salem King, who happened to be one of the creators whose content made me realise that being cringe at the start of your career is the best way to grow, agreed to come on my podcast. He lived in Abuja but was going to be in Lagos briefly, so we scheduled it. I travelled from Ibadan and nearly arrived late. While setting up, I realised I had forgotten one of my mic cables at home in Ibadan.

Panic.

So there I was, running through Lagos streets trying to find a replacement cable less than 30 minutes before the interview.

Salem, on his end, was stuck in traffic and had to fly bike to make it on time.

The episode still happened.

It wasn’t smooth, neither was it glamorous, but it happened, and neither of us knew where our careers would eventually lead. We just knew we were willing to commit fully to the process, even when it looked messy.

That’s the truth nobody highlights.

Every clear voice was once shaky. Every strong brand was once unsure. Every “professional” once looked like an amateur.

You don’t become confident and then act. You act, and confidence catches up.

You don’t wait for clarity. You move, and clarity finds you.

If you are waiting to feel ready, you will be waiting forever.

So here’s your permission slip.

Post the thing even if it’s rough.
Start the project even if it’s clumsy.
Say it badly. Do it scared.
Be cringe.
Be visible.

Act anyway.

And if you want to be in a room full of people who are building publicly and embracing the awkward middle, I want to invite you to Moment by Mainstack.

Over 4,000 creators with more than 150 speakers. I’ll be speaking there as well.

If you’re a creator in Nigeria, you should genuinely consider being there.

I’m giving out 20 free tickets to people in this community and all you have to do is click here, fill the form and I’ll pick 20 people in 48 hours.

If you don’t get one of the free spots, don’t worry, you can still get a discounted ticket if you use the code FOTOPOOL at checkout.

But whether you attend or not, the message remains the same:

Don’t let polish rob you of progress.

ACT ANYWAY!

Your partner in figuring life out,
Dim