In the summer of 2004 Arno Rafael Minkkinen took to the podium on the New England School of Photography to give the speech at the school’s commencement.

While looking out over the students graduating Minkkinen spoke of his simple idea that, he believed could be the deciding factor in the success of a student and failure. He named the theory The Helsinki Bus Station Theory.

It is the Helsinki Bus Station Theorie

Minkkinen was born in Helsinki, Finland. In the heart of Helsinki was a bus station that was huge and he started his speech by explaining the station to students.

“Some two dozen platforms are set up in a square at central point of the city,”” Minkkinen told reporters. “At the end of every platform is a sign that lists the numbers of buses which depart from that specific platform. The bus numbers can be read as 21-71, 33, 58 and 19. Every bus follows the same route from the center of town for at most one kilometer, stopping at bus stops at intervals throughout the route.”

He went on to say, “Now let’s say, in a metaphorical way that every bus stop represents a day in the lives of photographer. So the third stop could represent three years of photography. Okay, you’ve been working for 3 years on platinum-based studies of naked women. It’s called bus #21.”

“You bring those three years of effort and go to at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the curator asks you if are familiar with the naked from Irving Penn. The bus he was on, 71, was in the same direction. If you go to an art museum in Paris and you are prompted to look up Bill Brandt, bus 58 and the list goes on. In shock, you realize that what you’ve been doing for the past three years has been done by others.”

“So you get off the bus, take an cab, because life isn’t that long–and go straight back to the bus stop looking for a new platform.”

“This is the second time,”” He said “you will create 8×10 color view camera photos of people sitting on the beach using an oversized cherry picker. It takes three years to complete it, then you pay three grand to make a set of works that provoke the same reaction. Have you not been to the studio that Richard Misrach created? Perhaps, if they’re steamy 8x10s in black and white of palm trees dancing off the shore Have you not had a look at Sally Mann’s work? Sally Mann?”

“So once more, you leave the bus, hop into the cab, and race back to find a new platform. The same thing happens throughout your life as a creative artist, constantly presenting new work and being judged against others.”

“Stay at the bottom of the Bus”

Minkkinen paused. He looked at pupils and asked “What is the best way to proceed?”

“It’s easy,” he said. “Stay in the car. Keep on the bus. For if you do this, over time you’ll begin to notice a change.”

“The buses that depart out of Helsinki remain along the same route however only for a short time, maybe one or two kilometers. After that, they split with each bus heading towards its own distinct destination. Bus 33 suddenly turns north. Bus 19 southwest. At times, 21 and 71 cross paths with each other, but eventually they’ll separate and also. Irving Penn is headed elsewhere.”

“It’s the distinction that can make all an impact,” Minkkinen said. “And when you begin to notice the difference between your work and the work you admire–that’s the reason you picked that platform, after all — it’s time to find your breakthrough. Then your work begins to be noticed. Then you’re working by yourself, and creating more distinctions between your work and the factors that you did to influence it. Your vision is gaining momentum. As the years add to the point that your output starts to grow It won’t take long before critics are fascinated, not just by the distinctions that separate your work from Sally Mann or a Ralph Gibson however, but by the things you accomplished when you first began!”

“You get back the entire bus route, in actual. The prints from the past that were created twenty years ago are now being re-examined and, if they’re worth, begin selling for a significant price. The point at which you’ve reached the point at which the bus stops and the driver is able to go out for a cigarette or, even better a cup of coffee, that’s the moment when you’ve completed your work. The moment could mark the final chapter of your artistic career or even the end of your life, for reasons that aren’t obvious and yet your complete output is all before you: the beginning (so-called) imitations and breakthroughs along with the valleys and peaks and the final masterpieces each one a reflection of your own unique vision.”

“Why? You stayed at the back of the coach.”

Is Consistency the Key to Success?

I write often about the need for consistency in mastery. This includes concepts like performing your repetitions, improving your average speed as well as becoming enthralled by boredom. These are crucial ideas however The Helsinki Bus Station Theory aids in identifying and clarifying the important points that frequently are overlooked.

Is consistency the way to achieve success?

• Take a look at a student in college. They’ve likely logged at least 10,000+ hours inside the classroom at that point of their lives. Are they experts in absorbing every bit of information that is thrown at them? Not at all. The majority of what we learn in class is forgotten soon afterward.
• Take a look at someone who is on computers every working day. If you’ve been at your position for a long time and years, it’s likely that you’ve written for more than a thousand hours emails and responding to them. With all this writing, do you possess the ability to write your next novel? Most likely not.
• Take the average person who hits the gym on a regular basis. A lot of people who do this regularly for a long time or even for decades. Are they built to compete with elite athletes? Do they have elite strength? Unlikely.

The most important aspect that is the most important feature of The Helsinki Bus Station Theory is that it encourages users to not just complete additional work but perform more re-work.

It’s not about the work It’s the Re-Work

Students in college learn concepts at a time. The most effective college students revisit ideas repeatedly. Employees who are average write emails at least once. The best novelists revise chapters over and over and again. People who are average fitness enthusiasts follow the same routine of exercise every week. The most skilled athletes constantly critique every repetition and continuously develop their technique. It is the process of revision that is the most important.

In keeping with the metaphor of the bus, photographers who step off the bus after just a few stops, and then get onto a different bus line are working throughout the day. They’re working 10,000 hours. What they’re not doing is to re-work. They’re too busy jumping between lines in hopes of finding the route that nobody else has taken before that they aren’t taking the time needed to revisit their previous ideas. This according to The Helsinki Bus Station Theory clearly demonstrates is the most important factor in making something truly unique and amazing.

If you stay in the vehicle, you allow yourself time to revise and refine until you create something original, inspirational and outstanding. Only by remaining in the same place that mastery will reveal its true. Be consistent enough to push the typical ideas out of your way, and once in a while, it will be revealed as genius.

Malcolm Gladwell’s work Outliers was the first book to popularize The 10,000 Hour Rule, which says the need for 10,000 hours of focused exercise before becoming an expert one area. What we tend to overlook is that deliberate practice involves revision. When you’re not paying sufficient concentration to make changes your practice, then it’s not conscious.

A large number of people work for 10,000 hours. Only a handful of people are able to commit 10,000 hours of study. Only way for them to achieve this is to remain in the car.

The Bus You Will Travel On?

We all are creators in some way. The manager who advocates for a new idea. The accountant who designs the speediest method for handling tax returns. The nurse who is able to come up with ways to better manage her patients. Also the writer, artist, the designer, and the musician working to communicate their art all over the globe. They’re all creators.

Anyone who is trying to improve society is likely to fail. We often respond to failures with taxis and taking an alternative bus route. Perhaps the journey will be more comfortable here.

We should instead remain at the station and dedicate ourselves to the work of rethinking, revisiting, and revising our thoughts.

To do this but, you have to take the toughest choice of all. What bus do you want to take? What is the story you would like to tell about your life? What kind of craft do you wish to work on for years and enhancing?

How do you determine the correct answer? There is no way to know. There is no way to know the best bus however, if you’re looking to reach your full potential, you should pick one. This is among the main tensions in life. You have the option However, you have to choose.

When you’ve done this remain on the bus.

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About the Author

James Clear writes about the importance of habits, decision-making and the continuous improvement. James Clear is the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. It has been sold more than 25 million copies around the world as well as been translated into over 60 languages.