The gap between taste & talent

If you’re just starting out as an indie hacker, coder, maker, this quote by Ira Glass about the taste-talent gap might help:

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, and I really wish somebody had told this to me.

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there is this gap. For the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good. It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not that good.

But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. A lot of people never get past that phase. They quit.

Everybody I know who does interesting, creative work they went through years where they had really good taste and they could tell that what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. They knew it fell short. Everybody goes through that.

And if you are just starting out or if you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week or every month you know you’re going to finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you’re going to catch up and close that gap. And the work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions.

I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It takes awhile. It’s gonna take you a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just have to fight your way through that.

I found it immensely helpful for myself. Especially at practising patience.

It’s easy to feel frustrated at my progress. But that’s exactly what Ira was saying - I know I’m better, but I also know I’m not there yet. The dissonance is painful to hold. Most don’t hang around long enough to see their efforts bear fruit. There were many moments when I feel like calling it quits.

How much longer is this painful limbo going to take? What else am I missing?

Every day, every week, every month, every time I review my progress, look at my revenue, I ask those questions.

I sort of know the solution. Ira also points it out:

“It is only by going through a huge volume of work that you’re going to catch up and close that gap.”

And why I got to keep shipping, keep marketing, keep practising, keep making.

That’s why the Github commit streak is helping.
That’s why 12 Carrd plugins in 12 months is working.
That’s why watching others ship on Twitter is inspiring.

Ultimately, I got to remind myself why I got into this indie hacking game. Because I absolutely love creating. I feel most alive when making something and putting it out into the world.

James Clear sums it up best:

“It’s easier to recognize beauty than it is to create it… Remember that thing that got you into the game. Commit to the process and you’ll become good enough, soon enough. Put in a volume of work. Close the gap.”

Mind the gap. Then close it.