The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.

Everything you have not started still contains every version of itself. That is the appeal of the unstarted, and also its trap: the block holds every possible figure precisely because it holds none of them yet. Work is the act of choosing one and losing the rest. The loss is real, and it is also the only way anything gets made.

If a project has stayed uncarved for a long time, ask honestly whether you are gathering what you need or protecting the pleasure of the possible. Then cut once, on purpose, and let the other versions go.