If I Can Do It, Anyone Can

I really mean that.

Whenever somebody says to me, "Oh my gosh, I could never do that," I always answer the same way:

"If I can do it, anyone can."

I've been saying that for as long as I can remember.

I’ve never thought of myself as especially book smart. I’ve always thought of myself as more of a common-sense person.

And maybe that’s exactly why I believe so strongly that ordinary people can figure out a lot more than they think they can.

Maybe I've been doing this longer than I realized.

This photo was taken in 2019, at Daytona Beach, when I was training to walk a half marathon. I was out walking every day, rain or shine, training in the Florida heat. 

Roger almost never takes pictures of me, but that day he did.

Looking at it now, it feels like the perfect picture for this post.

I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do something so far outside my comfort zone, the year I turned 50. I'm not an athlete and have never really wanted to be one. I just kept walking.

I didn’t know how to work in corporate law until I learned. I don’t have a paralegal degree. Somehow, I ended up working in corporate law for 15 years and wrapped up my legal career after 25 years.

I didn’t know how to retire at 60 until I figured out what I needed to do.

I didn’t know how people traveled the world without spending a fortune.

I didn’t know how pet sitting worked.

I didn’t know how hotel points could stretch into weeks of travel.

I didn’t know how casino comps worked.

I didn’t know if fasting would work for me or even fit into my real life.

I didn’t know that I could post one Amazon review and still be making commissions from it two years later.

I didn’t think I could start a YouTube channel.

I definitely didn’t think I could figure out how to make videos and edit them.

But I did.

I didn’t know if I could write a book.

Then I wrote one.

And then I wrote another one.

I didn’t even know if I could actually write a blog post.

And I did.

That’s really how a lot of this has gone for me.

I didn’t know how to do any of it when I started.

I asked questions. I paid attention. I tried things. Sometimes they worked. Sometimes they didn’t. Then I adjusted and tried again.

Maybe I’m making smarter choices now than I did when I was younger. Maybe I’m just more willing to try things. Maybe retirement gave me the time to look at life a little differently.

I don’t know.

But I do know that I didn’t need to be an expert before I started.

I didn’t need a special degree.

I didn’t need to have everything figured out.

I just had to figure out the next step.

And then the next one.

So when I say, “If I can do it, anyone can,” I’m not putting myself down.

I’m saying that if you’re sitting there thinking, “I could never do that,” maybe you could.

Maybe you just don’t know how yet.

You can learn.

You can ask questions.

You can try something and change your mind.

You can make mistakes.

You can start over.

You can start something completely new at 60, 65, 70, or whenever you happen to be reading this.

You don’t have to know how the whole thing works before you begin.

You just have to be willing to figure out the first part.

Because if I can do it, I really believe anyone can.