On the first day of class Florida photography professor Jerry Uelsmann, separates his students into two groups.
One group of students are graded on the number of pictures they take. The more pictures they submit, the better the grade. The quality doesn’t matter.
The other group of students are graded on the quality of their photos. If they choose, they could spend the entire semester composing one perfect photo to submit for a grade.
Which group do you think submitted the best quality photo?
At the end of the semester the best photos came from the group graded on the quantity of photos they took.
Why is this?
While the members of the “quality group” sat around thinking about how to produce the perfect photo, the “quantity group” were out experimenting with different forms of lighting and composition, learning from the mistakes, and mastering their craft.
This experiment is a punch in the gut to the dawdling perfectionists out there.
It disproves the notion that you can think your way to a great idea. And suggests that “great ideas” are often built on the breadcrumbs of the hundreds of good, bad, and ugly ones that came before them.
Author and Entrepreneur James Altucher capture this idea in his article “The Ultimate Guide For Becoming An Idea Machine”
Altucher deems perfectionism “the enemy of your idea muscle”. And suggests aspiring creatives come up with 10 ideas a day.
His suggestion if you can’t come up with 10. Come up with 20.
If you can’t come up with 10… he says to come up with 20!
The number isn’t important. What is, is that you take the time and put in your reps.
You can do this by setting deadlines for yourself.
Asking a trusted friend to keep you accountable.
You can even make it into a silly challenge. Doesn’t matter.
In the creative arena: quantity beats quality. Give the finger to your perfectionist and get to work.