Looking for Shakespeare’s quill

I recently shared some screenshots of a project I’ve been working on for the past few months, and one of the comments I got threw me for a loop. Someone asked what software I used to manage the project.

I chuckled at first knowing the project management tool I used had little to do with the designs I was showing off.

Now, I’ll assume they just had project management on the brain and weren’t thinking my PM tool gave me the ability to create the design — but that thinking actually does happen pretty often.

A lot of us believe that if we just had the right tool, everything else would click into place.

For me, this didn’t start with web design… I remember being the kid who begged for $200 shoes, convinced they’d somehow make me a better basketball player. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. And as an adult, I still catch myself wondering what tools others use to achieve the results I’m after.

Whether it’s project management software, design tools, or coding environments, we’re often chasing this idea that the “perfect tool” is our golden ticket to success.

But let’s be real — it’s almost never about the tool.

Imagine thinking that if you could write with Shakespeare’s quill, you could pen the next Hamlet. It sounds absurd, right? Yet, that’s the kind of logic that has turned AppSumo into a multi-million-dollar success story.

Most of the time we’re shopping their aisles, we’re just looking for Shakespeare’s quill.

But to be better at basketball, I should have been out there every night practicing shot after shot. To write a compelling story, it starts with writing dozens of not-so-good ones first.

The same goes for design, project management, sales — you name it. There’s no substitute for experience and repetition.

Give me someone with tons of hands-on experience and basic tools over a novice with the fanciest gear any day of the week.

There are very few tools that could ever outperform what you gain from putting in the reps.