Take more at-bats

The periods of Beethoven’s career that had the most hits also had the most misses. If Beethoven could not increase his batting average over time, what makes you think you can?

The quality of your output in whatever it is that you care about does not vary with age. So, attempting to improve your hit rate is a waste of time as you progress through a creative career. Instead, focus on more at-bats. More output.

It is easy to want to be, but hard to do. That’s because the overwhlemingly most likely outcome of doing is rejection, imperfection, and judgment1. Strive to be the man in the arena. Most importantly, love the process2. The score will take care of itself.

People make the best things when they love the process, when they willingly shoulder the inherent uncertainty and pain that comes with it. It’s almost like a form of prayer: you offer up what you can even though the reward is uncertain. You do it out of love. (@noampomsky)

In all, just start. You have to go earn it, it is not going to come to you. Fortunately, excellence is mundane. It is doing the little things, learned or stumbled upon, consistently and correctly. These small things compound over time like a snowball building mass as its rolled down a really long hill.














  1. We suffer more in imagination than in reality (h/t Seneca). In fact, nobody thinks about you as much as you think about yourself because, well, everyone is thinking about themselves. ↩

  2. Create a process and routine you love. The outcome is not the point, ever. Very briefly look at the outcome to reflect on how to get better, then wipe it away and go back to the next iteration of the process. ↩