Chapter 2: Repetition: The Artist’s Greatest Tool

If there’s a secret sauce to success, it’s repetition. Not talent. Not brilliance. Just the willingness to show up, again and again, even when it feels pointless, even when it’s hard, even when you’d rather be doing anything else. Repetition is the artist’s greatest tool, and it’s the most underrated.

Let’s be honest: the idea of doing something over and over until you get it right doesn’t sound sexy. It sounds boring. But it’s the only way to get better. Every day you show up and do the work, you’re building muscle memory. You’re training yourself to push through resistance. You’re collecting experiences—both good and bad—that will serve you down the line.

Think of every repetition as a filter for failure. You’re going to mess up. You’re going to get it wrong. But each time you do, you’re learning what not to do next time. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, you get better. Your skills sharpen. Your instincts develop. You start to see patterns in your work that you never noticed before.

I’ve spent years working around musicians, and let me tell you: the ones who make it aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who’ve played in empty clubs to three people, who’ve slept on couches during months-long tours, who’ve kept playing even when no one was listening. They’ve built a thick skin and a quiet confidence that only comes from repetition.

 “Repetition is so important to do something every day. Every day, take on as many projects as possible—paid gigs, free gigs, barter gigs. Just constantly be creating.”

This isn’t just about art, though it’s a big part of it. This is about everything. Relationships, work, personal growth—it all comes down to repetition. You can’t expect to be good at anything if you’re not willing to put in the hours, to practice even when it feels like you’re getting nowhere. The real progress happens in those in-between moments, when no one’s watching, when it’s just you and the work, day after day.

The grind is real. But it’s also where the magic happens. Repetition creates a kind of resilience that you can’t fake. It’s a filter that catches all your failures, all your mistakes, and turns them into stepping stones. The more you do, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you

get. And over time, that repetition builds a quiet, unshakeable confidence. Not the loud, boastful kind, but the kind that comes from knowing you’ve been through the fire and come out stronger.

People who’ve done the work have a look about them. They’re humble, not because they’ve never failed, but because they’ve failed so many times that they’re not afraid of it anymore. They’ve been punched in the face, metaphorically speaking, and they know how to get back up. They’re not precious about their work because they know that every failure is just another step toward getting it right.

So whatever you’re working on—whether it’s your art, your side hustle, or just getting through the day—keep doing it. Keep showing up. Repetition is your best friend, and it’s the thing that will transform you from someone who dreams into someone who does.