Start scared.

2026 doesn’t need a master plan.

Author

Ian Adams
January 05, 2026

In partnership with

If you’re waiting to feel ready, you’ll wait too long.

Most real moves start with doubt. A tight chest. That quiet thought, this might be crazy.

That feeling is a signal you’re close to something worth testing. It doesn’t mean stop. It means it matters.

I have a place I call Someday Island. It’s where ideas go when they matter but feel inconvenient. The irony is I want to write a book about going for it while scared, about the cost of not doing what you love, and that book lives there, too. Waiting. Comfortable.

Safe.

Starting scared is normal.

It means you’re not repeating what already worked. You’re stepping into something unproven. Answers don’t show up first. You act, you say it out loud, you ship.

Then you learn what sticks.

Staying still can look responsible. Research. Planning. Tweaking. Calling it “strategy”. Most of the time, it’s fear with better language.

Figma didn’t start with certainty; it earned belief by shipping early and watching real teams rely on it.

2026 needs a first step you can take now.

Sit with:

What are you avoiding by staying in planning mode?

What is one move you could make this week?

What would change if you stopped waiting to feel ready?

Momentum comes from people. Systems should stay in the background and help, not lead.

👇

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Here is what the data shows:

  • Less than 10% of shoppers click AI-recommended links

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— Ian Adams, Founder the little red sofa

Before founding the little red sofa, I led strategy and creative for brands like Jeep, HSBC, and Unilever at top global agencies and in-house teams across 8 countries. Now I partner with brands to do the uncomfortable work that builds resilience. That’s how they become unshakable. Impossible to ignore.