Some of the hardest problems I've seen people solve, they solved because they didn't fully understand what they were getting into. They had a rough idea, started tinkering, and figured things out as they went. Not because they were brilliant, but because they didn't talk themselves out of trying.
When something looks smaller, you're more willing to jump in. You skip the part where you list all the reasons it won't work and go straight to seeing what happens. The first attempt is usually bad, but it teaches you something, and the second one gets closer. That's how most things actually get built.
When you see the full scope of a hard problem upfront, the natural response is to freeze. But if you just pick one piece and start there, the rest starts to feel less impossible. You go from "I have no idea where to begin" to "okay, that part works, what's next?" — and before you know it, you're halfway through something you almost didn't start.
Everybody hits walls, though. Getting curious about what went wrong keeps you in it longer than talent or toughness ever could. A dead end that makes you think "huh, interesting" instead of "well, that's over" usually isn't one for long.
So if something feels too big, don't try to understand all of it first. Just start somewhere and figure out the hard parts once you're already in motion.
Creativity, Inc. By Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace Pixar nearly collapsed more than once. How they kept making good movies anyway is the actually interesting part.
Loonshots By Safi Bahcall Big ideas get killed by the organizations that need them most. This book explains why — and how to stop doing it.
Antifragile By Nassim Nicholas Taleb Some things break under pressure. Others get stronger. Taleb explains why the second kind is where you want to be.
Changing Your Mind The strongest opinions are the ones you've been willing to reconsider when better information showed up.
Good Enough The rough version you put out today will teach you more than the perfect one you're still thinking about.
Luck Luck is part circumstance, part action—you can't control where you start but you can shape what happens next.