Half of what you do will be below your average
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In Seth Godin’s book The Practice*, he describes how half of what you do will be below your average. The concept is as simple as it is powerful. It shows that no matter how great you are, half of what you do will be below your average. As a creator, this is a powerful message to remember.
We continuously improve our craft as we journey through life, following our passions and pay-cheques until we eventually become as good as we can be. Unfortunately, at this point, our progress slows, and we stop getting any better.
So instead of producing continuously better work, we start producing only good work, when compared to the rest of our catalog.
When we continue to produce without improving, some projects will turn out better, and some will turn out worse. As this continues, it can become highly discouraging to put the same amount of effort into a project and have it turn out worse than the one before.
This can be a hard pill to swallow, especially when you make something you are proud of and nobody really cares.
As a beginner, progress is constant, and each project turns out better than the last. But eventually, as we continue on the journey toward mastery, our progress will slow, and eventually, one next project turns out worse than the last project. This applies to all work, whether it is a project assigned at your day job, an essay, a painting, or a video.
Eventually, we produce work below our average.
But, this is the way it is. This is art. And as artists, we need to make good work that other people care about.
Sometimes we will miss the mark and make good work that others don’t see or don’t care about. Still, it is up to us to carry the burden of resentment and continually grow and hone our craft. We need to show up and constantly seek to improve, as much for our own sake as for our audience. And if our work is good enough, eventually, we will build a tribe that cares about it.
If half of what you do will be below your average then the key is to make enough good work that your average is something you are proud of.
