“Have you gotten the new domain yet”
It had been a couple of weeks since I had been editing the new website when I noticed the transposed error on the domain name. I mean, I can understand how one can write dairies instead of diaries but now it’s a week to the launch date I’d promised myself so I needed the correct domain asap.
It was one evening in September the year after COVID when we decided to meet up and unwind. I hadn’t been out in a while so there I was having my drink as my friend caught me up with the drama that had happened while I was away.
“Let me tell you, that fight was one for the WWE screens”
“You don’t say,” I managed to say in between laughs. “We should write about these stories, they’ll be funny as hell.”
There and then we started toying with names and drafted an idea of a logo. You should have seen the elephant holding a whiskey glass I had drafted. Safe to say the art gene skipped me.
I began writing. Not gonna lie I was rusty as a neglected piece of iron. It’s quite hard creating an interesting story in one’s head and even harder jotting it down. It’s one thing having a skeleton of a tale, the big problem comes in putting the story in a sequence that a reader will enjoy the read.
“Hey darling, I’m sorry to disappoint but I don’t think I’ll be able to do my part of this project. I have a lot on my plate right now”.
Did you get a panic attack? Because I did when I read that message from my friend in January. Oh shit! There was no way I was gonna pull this off on my own. There is a safety net that comes with two people doing a project. If it fails the loss and shame is divided into two. When you are all alone the spotlight is on you. I didn’t think I could do it.
“Why don’t you do it on your own? You have great ideas but they always fade when you partner with someone. Just do it and if it fails at least you’ll know you tried and gave it your all.”
That was the best advice I got from my person. I wallowed in my pity for a couple of days then I got over that fear of failure and started working on Tembo diaries. We got the first domain, I picked the website template I wanted and started working on it. I really enjoyed working on that website as I curated it to my own specifications. Who would have thought that I, whose IT knowledge ended in that C++ programming class in University, would be here editing the back end of my first ever website?
So here we are, experimenting with fonts, topography, widgets and the shebang to bring you a safe space where we share relatable and informative tales. I got the domain fixed and as they say the rest is history.
It’s now a year later and I’m glad I didn’t give up. The stories I’ve told have really been impactful to me especially. This space has made me look within and evaluate the person I am and the one I aspire to be. Some days I woke up with no story but guess what, I never missed even one Saturday.
This is a sign for you to do that thing you badly want to. If it fails, you’ll learn and if it doesn’t you’ll still learn and level up. Look at the new baby, the Tembo diaries podcast. It’s out there and as much as we are winging it, we are having fun while at it.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Be more afraid of not failing because it means you didn’t take any risks. So, as Nike says it, just do the damn thing!
