When we launched, we had a clear mission: Make a newsletter that feels like a pause, like a break, like a practice space – an email that readers will be excited to see in their email inbox.
But… we didn't know how to do that.
We started anyway.
Today, as we're sharing Issue #43, we have a successful newsletter and an 8&21 community that's growing fast.
To be clear—I couldn't have “business planned" my way here, or “5-year strategy” outlined my way to this. We just had to start. Try. Fail. Learn. Pivot. Try again. Celebrate. And keep going (we're not done!).
So cheers to the projects that get started—to the clear missions that are still figuring out the “how.” To first issues that aren't forty-third issues yet (and the doers who are okay with trying their way there).
- Dr. Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of 8&21 and Celebrator of Iterative Issue #43
Early puppies
When our dog was a puppy, she didn’t know how to drink out of her water bowl properly. She would shove her entire face into the bowl and chomp around and then just lift her soaking wet snout and dribble water everywhere as she romped away from the water bowl–soaking everything in her path!
She was getting hydrated, but it was inefficient (and a mess).
So, that is why I like to think of my early iteration of projects as puppies—full of uncoordinated enthusiasm, entertaining curiosity, and loveable messiness.
Like training a puppy, early iterations need care, attention, and consistent effort.
- Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of 8&21 and Fan of Iterative Design and Gentle Puppy Training
Parable of the Pots
The famous parable of the pots is an anecdote about a ceramics professor dividing his class into two groups: One will be graded on quantity and the other on quality.
The first group will have all their pots weighed and the heavier they are, the higher the grade. The second will be graded on the best pot they produce, no matter how much work they turn out overall.
In the end, the best works were from the ‘quantity’ group, who’d stayed busy churning out work, learning from their mistakes, while the ‘quality’ group had sat theorizing about perfection.
While this famous parable is actually based on a real-life photography course taught by Jerry Uelsmann at the University of Florida (long story, but so it goes) — the takeaway can be applied to ceramics or photographs. The best way to come up with great work isn’t to aim for great work, it’s often just to aim for more work.
- Adapted from, “Follow the ‘70-20-10 Rule’ to Produce Your Best Work” by Jessica Stillman in Inc.
If you have an idea…
“If you have an idea that seems worth doing, don’t wait to hire other people and get funding and all those things.
Just start doing it, wait to see what happens, and then iterate on that.”
- Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy
Great job!
Way to take a pause and give 3 minutes to your practice of pursuing awesome
by exploring this issue's theme. You rock!
Thoughts about this theme?
Us too! We're keeping the convo going on social. Join us:
Did someone forward you this email?
Welcome!8&21 is sent on the 8th and 21st, meant to
