Jasmin Guthmann

Ready is tidy. Ready is safe. Ready is the story we tell ourselves when we don’t want to move.

I’ll sign up for that race when I’m ready.
I’ll take that promotion when I’m ready.
I’ll start that business when I’m ready.
I’ll leave that toxic team when I’m ready.

Let me break it to you: ready is not coming.

It is not a magical state you stumble into one morning with perfect conditions, perfectly aligned stars, and a perfectly rehearsed plan. It is not delivered by a fairy godmother with a wand or a CEO with a job title. Ready is a decision. One only you can make.

And if you wait until you feel ready, you’ll be waiting forever.

The Brutal Truth About Readiness

I have never been “ready.”
Not for my first ultra. Not for stepping onto a conference stage in front of thousands. Not for writing my book. Not for half the career-defining moments that people now point to and say, “Wow, you’re fearless.”

Fearless? Please. I was terrified.
But I decided. I laced up my shoes. I opened the damn laptop. I stepped into the arena.

That’s the only difference between the people who do and the people who dream: one decided, the other waited.

Ultra Lessons for Everyday Courage

When I run ultras, there’s a moment — usually around kilometer 60 — when my brain is screaming at me to stop. My legs ache, my stomach turns, the finish line is nowhere in sight. If I listened to the story that says “you’re not ready for this,” I’d quit.

But ultras are won in the mind.
So is business.
So is life.

Being ready doesn’t mean you’ve trained enough, researched enough, rehearsed enough. Being ready means you’ve decided to keep moving despite the discomfort.

That’s it.
That’s the secret.

Tech Needs More Deciders

Let’s talk about the other ultra I run: technology transformation.

Every boardroom I walk into has at least one person clutching their pearls about not being ready for MACH, not being ready for composable, not being ready to disrupt the “safe” but dying status quo.

And you know what? They’re right. They’re not ready. They never will be.

Because readiness isn’t a deck. It isn’t a roadmap. It isn’t more consultants, more strategy, more market scans.

It’s courage.
It’s saying: We’ll go. We’ll start. We’ll build the plane as we fly it. We’ll pivot if we must. But we won’t wait another quarter while the competition overtakes us.

Tech doesn’t need more readiness.
Tech needs more deciders.

Why We Hide Behind “Ready”

Let’s be honest: “I’m not ready” is a socially acceptable shield for fear.

Fear of failure.
Fear of judgment.
Fear of discovering that maybe you’re not as extraordinary as you hope you are.

But here’s the kicker: you’re going to fail anyway. You’re going to be judged anyway. You’re going to discover your edges and fall flat on your face sometimes. That’s life.

The real tragedy isn’t failing. It’s not starting.

The Decision Is Yours

No one can hand you readiness.
No mentor, no boss, no coach, no book (not even mine).

They can give you tools, inspiration, frameworks. They can remind you of your own strength. But only you decide if you’re going to step up.

Every time I toe the line at an ultra, I know the pain is coming. Every time I pitch a big idea, I know resistance is coming. Every time I choose the harder path, I know doubt is coming.

But I also know this: the finish line, the breakthrough, the transformation never comes to those who wait for readiness. They only come to those who decide.

So, Are You Going to Decide?

This is your wake-up call.
Stop waiting. Stop hiding behind the fantasy of being “ready.”

You don’t need more time.
You don’t need more data.
You don’t need more validation.

You need to choose.
Today.
Now.

Because ready isn’t a future state. It’s you, in this moment, saying: I’m going.

Final Word

I am Jasmin Guthmann. Trailblazer in Tech. Ultrarunner. Woman who has failed spectacularly, fallen hard, gotten back up, and kept going.

I don’t wait to be ready. I decide.