It was my 15 minutes of fame.
30 years ago, I wrote my first op-ed.
The column I was targeting was called In My Opinion.
This space had previously hosted such literary luminaries as Hilary Clinton.
It was a swing for the fences.
I knew the column had a 600-word limit.
My piece was flawless.
To call it writing would be an injustice.
The words flowed like music.
It was also 1,200 words long.
I was sure once the editors saw the beauty of my prose, they would double the news hole to accommodate my genius.
Thankfully, before sending it off, I came to my senses and realized I was going to have to cut this thing in half.
I remember well the first edit. I was able to cut out 15 words.
15.
That’s when I realized I was trying to accomplish with a scalpel that which required a hatchet.
Entire ideas — wonderful ideas — were cut away.
It wasn’t surgery.
It was slaughter.
It was painful.
It took longer to edit than it did to write.
But eventually it became exactly 600 words.
I sent it in.
The newspaper published it.
A radio host read the piece on air and then called me for a live interview.
The most important thing to come out of the experience?
I learned about the abundance of less.
And it doesn’t just apply to newspaper columns.
Now I’m seeing it everywhere.
Today, a new electric pickup truck called Slate is entering the market.
It doesn’t have world beating range or all the latest features.
Its chief claim to fame?
A price tag of $25,000.
Turns out, you don’t always need to drive a $100,000 combat ready truck down a dry riverbed.
It’s not just that less is more.
Constraints drive focus.
Focus produces excellence.
Chinese engineers constrained from access to the latest chips produced an AI alternative through clever work arounds.
Costco and Aldi deliberately carry a narrower product selection than typical competitors…
and enjoy faster inventory turns and higher profitability.
In-N-Out Burger has a limited menu of items prepared exceptionally well …
and a cult following.
Here’s the Reality Face Punch:
Constraints are not the enemy of excellence.
They’re often its cause.