Weekly Quote: William Zinsser on Learning Through Action

You learn by doing.

This week’s quote is from a favorite of mine, On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, by William Zinsser. You become what you spend your focus on. If you want to do something, acting on it regularly and with intention means you will improve.

This is easier than it may seem. If you don’t have an hour to dedicate to the thing you’re trying to do, plan for fifteen minutes. Don’t put it off because you can’t achieve immediate success, start now so you can attain that goal differently. Perfect is the enemy of the good. To get great at something, you have to work at being good consistently first.