Creativity Quote by David Friedman

Stage fright usually gets framed as a hurdle you either conquer or don’t, but David Friedman rewrites it as a math problem: 100 performances. That’s the quiet power here. He doesn’t romanticize discomfort or dress it up as “nerves.” He treats confidence like craft - something earned through reps, not bestowed by talent.

The specific intent is disarmingly practical. Friedman is telling you, and maybe reminding himself, that comfort is not a prerequisite for doing the work; it’s a byproduct. By choosing a number that’s both arbitrary and plausible, he sidesteps the trap of perfectionism. “Another 100” implies he’s already done plenty and still feels exposed. That admission punctures the myth that professional musicians eventually become fearless. The subtext: if you’re waiting to feel ready, you’re negotiating with a moving target.

There’s also a sly humility in the timeline. He’s not promising a breakthrough moment where the lights warm up and the self-consciousness evaporates. He’s promising accumulation: hundreds of small survivals that slowly retrain the body to stop reading an audience as a threat. In a culture obsessed with overnight glow-ups, Friedman’s quote lands as an antidote - a reminder that performance is less about feeling “authentic” on command and more about building a relationship with discomfort until it stops running the show.

Contextually, it fits a working musician’s worldview: progress measured in gigs, not affirmations.