10,000 times

When Brandon Stanton left his job as a day trader, he came to New York with one goal in mind: find something to make just enough money to enable him to do what he loves.

He was burnt out from a job he didn’t like. He was an artistic guy. He was a photographer. He didn’t want to get rich with his art or be famous. He wanted to make just enough money — just enough to make a living and do what he loved.

So he made a commitment. He decided to travel around New York City every day taking photos of interesting people and posting them online.

After 10,000, he figured, he would be able to improve his craft and make enough money on the side selling prints or in shows to get by.

“I set such a huge goal that I forced myself to work every day.”

— Brandon Stanton

What he didn’t realize was that his commitment to 10,000 photos started a movement now known as Humans of New York.

Notice that he didn’t have a grand vision for creating a massive Facebook page with millions of fans. He made a very simple commitment. Do one thing again and again and get so good at that eventually people pay you for it.

So, if you are artist with grand dreams of fame and fortune, try Brandon’s approach instead:

1. Pick a form of art.

2. Commit to creating and sharing something 10,000 times.

Then, see what happens.

Brandon Stanton’s recent interview with Chase Jarvis of CreativeLive inspired this post.