If You’re Stuck Creating Content, Remember The Ceramics Teacher
When you need inspiration to stop procrastinating and create content, read this…
The book “Art & Fear” has a wonderful story about a ceramics course — it can teach all of us about how to become great at what we do…
At the beginning of the course, the ceramics teacher divided the class in two groups of students.
She instructed Group A to create a large number of pots. This group of students will be graded solely on the quantity of pots they produce. Whatever quality is fine. Each one simply has to make as many pots as time allows.
The students in Group B, on the other hand, were instructed to create “the perfect pot.” Each student will be graded solely on the one pot. For them they had to think only about quality.
At the end of the course, the pots were actually ordered based on quality.
Yet, all the best pots were made by students in Group A — that is, the group instructed to make as many pots as possible!
Because their goal was quantity, they had a lot of experience with the process itself. They really learned how to work with the materials and the tools. They had practiced turning their ideas into reality. At first poorly, then better and better, more and more aligned to their inner vision.
Due to their experimentation, they had become more skilled by the day.
While Group A was busy creating, Group B — the ones instructed to make just the perfect pot — was busy planning and designing the ideal thing… they were thinking a lot, but not really creating.
A lot of them had become paralyzed by the task… afraid of producing anything less than perfect.
(I feel badly for Group B … I hope the teacher helped them get out of analysis paralysis!)
Learn this well: through quantity, you’ll come to create quality.
Make lots of content, keep experimenting. Post a lot! As you create many pieces, some of them you’ll find yourself especially proud of. And some of them your audience will LOVE and share forward.
George Kao is a marketing & productivity coach who values authenticity, service, and personal growth. He has been featured on hundreds of webinars and podcasts. To get his best posts in a single monthly email, subscribe to his free newsletter at www.georgekao.com/email
Feel free to share this post and inspire your friends to create more!
More importantly, model it for them, through your action :)
