You must first be average to become great.
I get a rush when I experience greatness. When I watch a great movie, I come out moved and inspired. When I hear the right song at the perfect time, it hits me in the gut. When I read an inspiring passage or finish a perfect novel, I get goosebumps.
Greatness moves people. Average work does not. And as Naval Ravikant says, “there’s no demand for average.”
If you’re trying to figure out why your work isn’t resonating, it’s probably because the work is average. And that’s okay. Because you have to pass through the valley of average to reach the mountain top of greatness.
Greatness stands out.
In the age of infinite leverage—greatness is the only way to stand out. The internet rewards those who are undeniably great, while average is pushed into obscurity.
Before the internet, you competed with people in your city or town. If you were selling custom t-shirts, you’d set up a booth at a local fair and compete with a few other vendors. Today, you’re competing with thousands of brands on Etsy, Amazon, and Instagram ads—all in a single scroll.
The internet magnifies the best, while the rest struggle for scraps.
Because no consumer wants the 10th-best version of the same thing when you can get the best wherever you are over the internet.
This is true in my industry of Hollywood, too. Before the internet, there were two ways to get your script in a producer or agent’s hands: you either mailed it or hand delivered it.
Obviously, hand-delivering a script to someone you had already met was the best way to get it read. So, people who physically lived in LA had an advantage.
But today, with email and digital .pdf files, you can send your screenplay from anywhere. That means writers in LA aren’t just competing with each other, but with writers from all over the world. There’s never been more competition to get your script read, never mind bought and made into a movie.
That’s why greatness is the only way to stand out. To move the needle, your script must be undeniably great.
But it won’t start that way. Most great work starts out average (at best)… with the seed of greatness inside it.
The seed of greatness is found in your average work.
I’m four years into my screenwriting career. Considering I plan to write for as long as I’m mentally capable, this is the very beginning of the journey. In these four years, Tara and I have gone from bad, to average, to really good.
I say that with evidence. Our second-ever movie script is currently in the hands of one of the most prolific comedy TV directors of all time. She read and liked it, and is considering coming on board as the director.
Prior to that, the first script Tara and I wrote was optioned by one of the most famous producers in our romantic comedy genre - with hit movies that have grossed over $600 million at the box office.
Now—and this is the point of telling you all this—Tara and I were not always good. In fact, we started out bad! The first draft of that first screenplay was a complete and total mess.
It was like building a house without having ever done construction. We had a pile of bricks and an idea of what the house should look like, but no experience putting it all together.
Yes, that early draft was bad.
But it had something really important: our voice. It had our point of view and our sense of humor. It had the seed of something great.
And that literally makes all the difference.
Because if you have a seed of greatness in your average work, people will help you.
They will come to you and show you how to build the house. And if you listen to them, and put in enough effort and iteration, you can turn average (and even bad work) into something really good.
But it doesn’t happen quickly. It takes years and years of persistent effort. Tara and I worked two years straight on our first screenplay. About a year and a half on our second.
You must be willing to put in the time and energy to get through the valley of average and begin the long, slow climb towards greatness.
And it’s not a steady climb either. Because creativity doesn’t unfold in a straight line. Creativity is messy, with the false starts and sharp, jagged back tracks.
So don’t get discouraged by your average work. Just keep watering the seed of greatness until it grows into a giant tree no one can ignore.
Start now.