Tonight, I am reminded of the power of CONTENT. That’s what it’s really all about, guys…don’t ever get too hung up on quality that it prevents you from releasing content.
Yup. I said it. Go ahead and disagree with me if you want, but it’s true. Something doesn’t exist if it’s not “out there.”
So, there was a convo on the social medias tonight between two people…one that I haven’t actually met yet, and another who is a complete stranger but knows this new acquaintance of mine. Well, the *complete* stranger made a reference to a project I did years ago that I’ve pretty much left for dead…how this person knows that project, I have no freaking idea. I went on YouTube and checked the stats, just to see if something had blown up or gone viral without me knowing…nope. Still the same numbers that have always been there. And yet this complete stranger knew the project. By name. And thought it was great.
How does that happen???
The answer, dear folks, is “content.” Put it out there and people will find it. Probably not that MANY people…let me tell you from experience…but it will happen. Just get it to a point where you know it’s ready for other eyes to see, as good as you as a flawed creator can make it, and the put it out there. Let it go. Finished work is infinitely more powerful than work sitting inside your head. They’re not even in the same league. Or the same solar system. Not even close.
I ran across that with this very blog the other day, someone telling me they read it every so often and they really enjoyed it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to people actually reading/watching/listening to my stuff. Genuinely.
And not because I’ve toiled in obscurity for going on a decade trying to find my “true path”…no, it’s because the act of creating this stuff is such a solitary endeavor. It’s just me at my keyboard/computer. Editing video footage, or clacking away at a sentence, or getting audio levels right…it’s just me. And often a very vulnerable me, putting a bit of myself on the line for the sake of creating something with some truth in it. People actually paying attention to that is always…weird. Wonderful and terrifying wrapped together.
But there’s a reason I post these journal entries online…and because I believe strongly in sharing, and that stories need to be TOLD…not just to ourselves, but to everyone who will listen. And so, here we are. Talking nightly about what’s rattling around in my head. And trying not to be too narcissistic about it (at which I’ve completely failed tonight).
Finish your work, guys, and then share it. There’s nothing more powerful as a creative person. It can’t be beat.
You never know who will find it.
Artwork tonight by S Clay Wilson.