February 14, 2025
Show up. Do the work. Keep going until your skills match your vision.
As of this writing, Ira Glass has produced more than 850 episodes of This American Life. The show debuted on November 17, 1995, under its original title, Your Radio Playhouse. According to him, it took a long time to learn to do it.
In 2010 screenwriting instructor Scott Myers conducted a series of four interviews with Glass. Myers was more interested in Glass’s insights than flashy production, so the videos were simple: just Ira speaking in front of a mixing board. One of these interviews delivered a powerful message—when you start out, no one warns you about the gap between your taste and your skill. You recognize what good work looks like, but you can’t yet create it yourself. This realization leads many people to quit. But the only way to bridge the gap is through relentless practice. The secret to improving is to keep creating, no matter what.
Here’s the interesting part. The original video, perhaps because of its simplicity and relatively low production values, reached a modest audience. Then, David Shiyang Liu—a talented creative director who has done the work to become good—took Glass’s words and transformed them into a kinetic typography video. Liu’s version resonated widely, going viral and bringing Glass’s message to a large audience.
It’s a message worth hearing: Show up. Do the work. Keep going until your skills match your vision.
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