Quantity breeds quality

“Quality over quantity” is an old cliché. Many people like to say this about themselves because it feels like it says something noble about you. In truth, however, often all it provides is an excuse. An excuse not to show up, not to do the work. By committing to producing quantity, you become the professional that Stephen Pressfield talks about in Turning Pro, and that is the mechanism by which you will produce quality work.

For just one example, Picasso (fun fact, his full name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso…!!) is estimated to have produced nearly 148,000 pieces of art across his life. Even if he started on the day of his birth, that’s about four and a half pieces per day for 91 years!

Quantity is the well from which quality springs.

That quality springs from quantity is a lesson I’ve been sharing with those that I coach for a long time, and yet it’s been a lesson shared with a liberal dose of hypocrisy. You only have to look at my blogging history to see that rarely have I managed to commit to regularly creating a solid quantity of work. As a perfectionist, even while telling others to focus on quantity I’ve struggled to apply the lesson myself.

This month, I’m launching a personal experiment. Inspired by Seth Godin and provoked by my friend Richard Brisebois (who is also committing to this little quest), I’m going to share a blog every day in October.

I’ll need to work efficiently. I’ll need to share ideas in draft. I’ll need to forgo perfection in deference to utility. I’ll also need support. Please, let me know whenever one of my blogs this month is useful to you. A little bit of positive energy will help me keep going I’m sure.

This is a relatively hasty idea and I haven’t yet worked out all of my scheduling tools… wish me luck!

See you tomorrow.

Photo by Beata Ratuszniak on Unsplash