Why Consistency Beats Talent

Today’s Theme

Growing up, I couldn’t get enough of SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. I’d sit glued to the screen waiting for a buzzer-beater shot, a robbed homerun in center field, or a game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds. There was something electric about watching the best moments in sports back-to-back-to-back.

As human beings, we love highlight reels. Not just in sports, either. We are quick to celebrate the peaks in life, but sometimes we forget these highlights are thousands of quiet, often invisible reps that others don’t see.

Today’s story is a reminder that greatness isn’t built in the spotlight. It’s forged in the dark with little attention or applause. It’s about consistency and the (often) inconvenient decision to keep showing up day after day and how to create a system to keep momentum going.

Mike Winkelmann’s $69 Million Dollar Streak

In 2007, Mike Winkelmann (aka “Beeple”) made a decision. He committed to creating and posting one piece of digital art every single day. No matter what, with no exceptions.

He called them “Everydays.” At first, most were simple designs. Some were strange and many were average, but he posted them anyway.

Thirteen years later, that streak culminated in a moment no one could have predicted. His digital collection sold at an auction for $69 million. Although most view the highlight of his story as the staggering payday he earned, I like to emphasize his streak. He published graphic art every single day for over 5000 straight days!

Beeple once joked…

That quote made me laugh, but it’s dead-on.

The hardest part about consistency is that it often feels invisible. You show up, do the work, and…nothing happens. But then one day, it does. And everyone else sees a breakthrough or an “overnight success,” while you see the result of 5,000+ quiet yesterdays.

Beeple didn’t “win” with a single piece of art. He won with a system built on consistency and discipline.

We Overvalue Intensity and Undervalue Consistency

Intensity is exciting. It makes for a great story.

It looks like:

• Running a marathon on a whim (see Jesse Itzler as case in point)

• Writing a book in 30 days.

• Going on a week-long silent retreat.

• Establishing a new 5x/week workout routine at the start of the New Year.

But intensity is a spike and spikes fade (see “Quitter’s Day” — aka the 2^nd Friday in January when most people typically quit their resolutions).

Every time you show up, even when you don’t feel like it, you cast a vote for the kind of person you want to be.

Consistency produces skill growth. Skill growth produces confidence growth. Eventually, you adopt the belief: “This is what I do. I consistently show up and produce, even on my hardest days.”

In psychological terms, this ties to self-perception theory, which is the idea that we learn who we are by observing what we do. When you show up consistently, you begin to trust yourself. That trust is internal fuel for long-term performance.

In addition, research on habit formation (see James Clear and BJ Fogg to name a few) points to the same principle: Repetition matters more than perfection. A smaller action done consistently is more effective than a massive one done occasionally.

Perfection is fragile. Consistency is resilient.

No one performs their best every day, but if you only act when conditions are ideal (e.g. when you’re inspired, rested, or confident), you’ll never build the reps needed to improve.

You have to show up even when the outcome isn’t pretty. You have to be okay with "C+ work" sometimes to get to "A+ moments" over time.

Beeple didn’t post masterpieces every day. He posted something. That’s the muscle. That’s a system.

Raising Your Floor

After leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2025 NBA Championship, Head Coach Mark Daigneault reflected on what made his team successful and shared the following message:

It’s easy to focus on maximizing your ceiling (e.g. your optimal performance), but what sustains greatness isn’t how high you can go on your best day…It’s how solid you are on your worst.

And that’s where non-negotiable minimums come in.

These are small, consistent actions that raise your floor. They create an unshakable baseline; a version of your process you can stick to no matter how chaotic or uninspired the day is.

On good days, you can do more. On tough days, do something.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Instead of “run five miles,” your minimum is “run for five minutes.”

• Instead of “write a chapter,” your minimum is “one messy paragraph.”

• Instead of “meditate 15 minutes,” your minimum is “five deep breaths.”

These small standards may feel insignificant, but they make it easier to keep your streak alive. They protect the habit. They give you a win to stack.

Final Thoughts:

The highlight reels are fun to watch, but they rarely show the work it took to get there.

Beeple didn’t post 5,000 masterpieces. He posted 5,000 days of progress. He won by building a floor he could stand on, even when the work wasn’t pretty.

That’s the real secret of consistent performers: They stop trying to win every day perfectly and instead focus on showing up faithfully.

They define what “winning in the mud” looks like ahead of time. They build a system sturdy enough to carry them through the uninspired days. They raise their floor so they’re still in the game, even when the game gets hard.

You don’t need perfect conditions. You don’t need a lightning bolt of inspiration.

You need one small action today.

Inspiration for This Piece:

• https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-beeple-crashed-the-art-world

The Threshold Lab Podcast:

This week on The Threshold Lab, I chatted with Hall of Fame Softball Coach and 8-time National Champion, Mike Candrea. I walked away from the conversation inspired by Mike’s vulnerability and humility as he opened up about his triumphs and hardships, on and off the field.

If you're new to the podcast, you'll also find shorter, bite-sized solo episodes throughout the week exploring mindset and performance principles. If you enjoy my conversation with Coach Candrea (or any of my other episodes), it would mean a lot for you to rate and review the show on whatever platform you use.

My hope is this show continues to expand and positively impact other coaches and leaders so your support will help immensely.

With gratitude,

ZB