Do you choose to work with quality... Or bravely? (According to expert Seth Godin)

365 texts creativity methods
Reflections and drafts

Goal of the day: 1512 words. Written: 492.

Honour and glory. Wealth and thanks. Attention and respect. That's what we probably all want. Well, at least that's what I want.

  • However, some of my articles are complete nonsense.
  • Some of the novellas are an explosion of thoughts.
  • Some of the lectures are jumping around awkwardly.

I don't like it myself. Clearly, it was not done on purpose. It just happened.

Why?

One of my favourite authors, Seth Godin, said: your products can be either new or quality, but not together.

FIRST: New, innovative products...

....are the ones that knock life out of its normal course, knocking out entire markets or habits of thought, knocking out fuses in minds.

This:

  • A book about a boy, Harry, who enters a magic school. Everyone tells Harry "Harry, don't do it" and Harry says "Harry does". One of the most memorable fantasy franchises of the last decade.
  • Electronic music played by two masked dudes. It's a strange music, but it was probably one of the ones that started the modern wave of electronic music.
  • A furniture shop where the furniture is high quality and the prices are low, because you assemble it in your own home. The story of the Scandinavian world conquest.
  • A military manoeuvre that smashes the defending opponent and the attacking one - what if we build two walls around the cloak? Julius Caesar's victory in some battle whose name I keep forgetting.

All of this is open to error. It all could have failed. Hundreds and thousands of similar ideas may never have worked... But this one changed everything.

ANTRA: Old, quality products...

...When you buy them, you get what you always expected. They're so hard-working, they don't cost a fortune. They're high quality, long-lasting and will last until innovation arrives.

After all:

  • It's said that the McDonalds burger tastes exactly the same all over the world, so if you don't want to get sick from local Asian food, eat at McDonalds.
  • The Bible is said to be such a good book, and Christianity as a religion is said to be so good, because it has taken 2017, if not more, to work out its trite but effective truths.
  • It is said that what makes a Buggati, Aston Martin, Ferarri or any other luxury car so good is that its makers will never risk giving you an untested experiment.
  • Modern computer chips are said to go through over a million value calculation tests before they reach your computer, phone or bank server shelves.

There is no room for error anywhere. There is only long, boring, calculated work that has been tested hundreds of times. Every time you get that, you get quality.

And lo and behold, my FREE content is sometimes terrible.

I created a free article. I was invited to a seminar for which nobody pays (neither the participants to the organisers nor the organisers to me). I shared the idea on my Facebook wall.

... "Free" is a very peculiar phrase. Because what is free for the recipient does not mean that it is free for the producer.

And I can present what I already know every time. What I know. Another article with the same phrases. Another seminar that will have everyone nodding their heads at the end. One more Facebook post saying "wow, how true".

But isn't that a waste of my resources? After all, I could use the opportunity to make some mistakes.

But this is not about me.

This is about you.

What do you create? And how?

Do you allow yourself to experiment one day? Or do you allow yourself to create something that is of full quality and workmanship on other days, when you really need it?

As I mentioned, Seth Godin has said that it is impossible to mix the two approaches.

And I hope you are not trying to create a quality experiment? After all, you can see that it wouldn't work?

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