“What will they think?” will curb your creativity
Don't create for the person who might criticise you. Create for the person who thinks you're a genius. 🧠
As the number of subscribers to this newsletter increases, so does my heart rate, and my blood pressure... I’m joking. Kind of. While writing for the sake of writing is lovely, writing for a growing number of people who have the strange tendency to actually open your emails? (I see you, guys! 👀) Uh-oh!
(That said, hi old & new faces, I’m so glad you’re here! 👋🏻)
As I reflect on what people I know and people I’ve never met in my life might potentially think of me, I hear it louder and louder – my own voice, telling me softly, “What the fuck, Anca?” And, as always, it has a point… and no filter. Because here’s something I’ve learnt while doing my thing(s):
The people who don’t like what you’ve got aren’t your people, and you’re not going to convince them otherwise. Spend zero time thinking about them when you ask yourself what to play with next. If you spot one, smile, wave, and let them unfollow, unsubscribe, or walk away.
When you create from a place of “What will they think?” all you do is curb your creativity.
Instead, create for the people who will love anything you make. Create for the people that need to see you having fun while hard at work. Whatever comes out might not seem all that special to you, but to someone else it might be – if only you let them see it.
Every time you shy away out of fear of rejection, someone misses out on the magic you’ve got. There are people out there who love you and your work, even if you don’t know who or where or how many of them there are. (It doesn’t even matter, anyway.)
They’re quietly watching, checking to see if you’ve put more of your goodness into the world. They’re impacted by you. You’re the X to their “What would X do?” The next time you don’t know who you’re creating for, create for them. For the people who think you’re awesome.
The others won’t look, anyway. Not even if you ask them to.
What if you know who they are – because they tell you? (How nice! Go you!) Imagine someone knocking at your office door, curious to know more about what you have to offer. What are you going to do? Look behind them and wonder why there isn’t a queue? Probably not.
You’re going to treat them well – make them a cup of coffee, tell them more about what you do, and help them find what they’re looking for. It’s the same with your website or playground of choice. So do yourself and your audience a favour and stop seeing nothing but numbers.
Start seeing people behind them instead. Ask yourself: if there were, say, 30 people in your living room right now, all listening to you, what would you tell them? Because that’s exactly what’s happening. There are “30 people only” listening to YOU. How awesome is that?
Growth and visibility are important, sure. But often we don’t even know how to talk to the few people that are already standing in our corner. Maybe let’s start there?
Anca x