It Takes Quantity To Get To Quality. So Do Work, Try, Fail, Ideally Publicly & Repeat 1,000 Times.

To answer the age old question: quality vs quantity.

A study at UF film photography class was done, it’s extensive, but the class was split at the beginning of the semester. Group A was quantity group. Group B was quality. Group A was graded on amounts of photos turned in & presumably judged by classmates. 100 photos got an A, 90 = B, 80 = C and so on.

Group B was graded only on the excellence of their work. They only need to produce 1 photo during the semester but it needed to be nearly perfect to get an A.

Can you guess what happened?

The best photos were done by the quantity group. These students spent the semester actually taking 100s of photos, experimenting, testing, trying and learning from their mistakes and things that worked and didn’t work.

Meanwhile, the quality group sat around all semester and thought about perfection. They planned and researched but did very little action. The had very little to show, a side-liners incorrect theories, and mediocre skill and photo.

In short, it takes quantity to get to quality. If you start by trying to be perfect, you’ll never start or do it once & be mediocre at best. On the contrary, if you actively practice, repeatedly, and often publicly, you’ll not only be better, but that’s how you get to great.

Contrary to popular beliefs, getting into a habit or becoming great, isn’t necessarily about time. It’s about how many times you do it.

(I got this from a book and experience says it’s true. I highly recommend reading “Atomic Habits”)