I am the sea turtle
Taking a cue from nature
It’s another Friday - and here’s another story. Thank you so much for being here. I’ve been busy over on YouTube as well. Posting new videos every day, I’m filling my channel with watchable stuff. Yes, every day. That’s what today’s story is about, actually. Have a read, and then check out all my new content on YouTube. I hope you like what I am creating. ~JRC
Approx. 600 words; 3 minutes read time
As an online content creator, I've been grappling with the balance between quality and quantity. My instinct is to double down and do my best, no matter how long it takes. But to build a consistent and viable web presence, I have to put myself out there frequently - even daily. There's no time to belabor over minutia. I need to get stuff out now.
Often it feels like a dichotomy - quality or quantity, but never both. The thing is, it need not be. Nature shows us that quality exists all around, only the strategies differ. Take for example the sea turtle and the whale.
The sea turtle
My heart goes out to those wonderful little sea turtles. They are beautiful creatures, however small. Hatched by the hundreds, no mother in sight, they make a mad dash for the sea. Along the way, hungry birds and crabs pick them off, one by one. The lucky few that make it into the water are not much better off. Here, in the turbulent waves, other predators lurk. Hungry fish. Ravenous sharks. More crabs. It's a miracle any sea turtles survive at all, and yet a few always do. And some become mothers themselves.
The whale
These majestic marine mammals give birth to only one calf (rarely two). And they do so infrequently - no more than once every couple of seasons. After birth, the mother religiously defends her child, nurturing it to maturity. Like a human mother, they'll do anything to protect their young. And while childhood is dangerous for all, a baby whale has size on its side. The calf itself is born quite large, and the mother is one of the largest of all animals. Unlike the sea turtle, most baby whales make it in life.
There's a lot that goes into each of these life strategies. The sea turtle invests in the many in hopes that one will succeed. The whale goes all-in on one, doing everything to ensure the one will make it.
It's easy to say the whale has more value than the sea turtle, based on investment. But this misses the point. Yes, less went into a sea turtle as an individual, and more often than not, the individual dies. But in birthing hundreds and thousands of these over a lifetime, a single turtle is a remarkable success. And that success was once a lone child, struggling to get into the sea.
The turtle passes on its bloodline through dogged repetition. And the next generation succeeds because it was equipped to do so, not because it was designed to fail. Sometimes, failure just happens. But each little turtle is ready for life.
Each and every sea turtle - ready for success even if success never comes.
In creating content, I am reminded again and again of the sea turtle and the whale. I could invest a lot in a little, like the whale, hoping for my big break. But online content creation is a sea of danger. It's too easy to get swallowed up in its depths. And I’m not a whale.
I haven't the gift of size. I am small. I’m a nobody, really. To stand out - to survive - I need to spread my creations as far as possible.
I must be the sea turtle, both in youth and in maturity. And most importantly - in number and essence.
Success as a content creator is not about quality over quantity. Or visa-versa. Instead, it's about moderating investment to ensure both quality and quantity win out. Investing the right amount in a lot of small things allows for high quality and frequent production. It’s a win-win for online content creation.
More simply put - I need to make good stuff at a decent rate that gets me noticed. And I need to do it consistently, over and over, as long as it takes, to ensure success. Many will fail, but it doesn’t mean all is lost. It only means that I must keep trying.
Yes, I am the sea turtle. Goo goo g'joob.
Or am I the walrus? Crap. Do I need to start over with my metaphors?
Oh, the heck with it. I have a video to shoot.
Until next time.
JRC
A sea turtle, you r.
Sounds like you’ve got a good handle on your R’s and K’s! (Biologist insider humor). Looking forward to the many!