The value of making a lot of pots - stop planning, start doing

So many people don't realise their hopes and dreams because they never actually start working on them. Most of the time people have the idea but they don't have the 'how'.

Don't wait until you are good at it - just start where you are and improve over time

This is a little like what I'm doing with this website. I have been thinking about it for years but always had the feeling 'I'm not good enough yet'. In reality we will never get to perfect. There is always more to learn, more to practice, more to improve. We often only see how far we have to go and don't notice how far we have already come.

Often learning how to do something and getting good at it requires 'doing' and some trial and error. The following is one of my favourite stories for explaining this concept:

A pottery teacher split her class into two halves.

To the first half she said, “You will spend the semester studying pottery, planning, designing, and creating your perfect pot. At the end of the semester, there will be a competition to see whose pot is the best”.

To the other half she said, “You will spend your semester making lots of pots. Your grade will be based on the number of completed pots you finish. At the end of the semester, you’ll also have the opportunity to enter your best pot into a competition.”

The first half of the class threw themselves into their research, planning, and design. Then they set about creating their one, perfect pot for the competition.

The second half of the class immediately grabbed fistfulls of clay and started churning out pots. They made big ones, small ones, simple ones, and intricate ones. Their muscles ached for weeks as they gained the strength needed to throw so many pots.

At the end of class, both halves were invited to enter their most perfect pot into the competition. Once the votes were counted, all of the best pots came from the students that were tasked with quantity. The practice they gained made them significantly better potters than the planners on a quest for a single, perfect pot.

I love this story for explaining the value of just working on your craft. The truth is nobody knows exactly how to be successful in life. It just takes persistence, a real desire to learn, and a willingness to be wrong sometimes.