If there’s a quintessential rule in marketing, it’s probably this: that whatever your contribution, whatever your art, whatever you make with your own two mitts, whatever you choose to gift to the world…
It ain’t for everyone.
But if we only look to influencer culture’s drive to be famous, or high-growth start-up culture’s drive to dominate markets, we can be forgiven for thinking that we need to connect with everyone—the faster the better.
Not true, though.
Sixteen years later, futurist Kevin Kelly is still right: you only need 1,000 true fans to make a handsome living, not millions of them. You don’t need a megahit or superstardom to make your mark. And there’s more good news: you have everything you need to connect with your true fans, at your fingertips, all practically free.
This means that for the first time in human history (or at least since the beginning of the industrial revolution), you—the daring creator—get to do the work you want to do and design the kind of life you want to live! It’s an unprecedented opportunity and an equally big responsibility.
Also, quite scary.
That’s because we’ve all been warned not to rock the boat; to just chill; play it safe; stay passive; consume!
Consuming and passively dreaming of achieving some level of stardom is a convenient excuse not to start doing work that truly matters to us. Then, a despairing sense of entitlement kicks in and traps us.
The trap is cleverly portrayed in Arcade Fire’s 2017 song, “Creature Comfort:”
Creature comfort, makes it painless
Bury me penniless and nameless
Born in a diamond mine
It’s all around you, but you can’t see it
Born in a diamond mine
It’s all around you, but you can’t touch it
Sayin’, “God, make me famous”
If you can’t, just make it painless”
Just make it painless
It’s an interesting tune with layers of meaning. But the takeaway for me (in addition to the heartbreaking realization that too many people, especially young people, see the world in this way) is that your success isn’t what other people say it is. It’s not something out there somewhere; nor can you find it in your bank balance, in the number of Likes on Facebook, in the comments section, or in any other external measure.
Success is what YOU design it to be.
Success comes from within, not from without.
So please, go ahead, dare to dance to your own music. Give the world your humble best. Enough people will find you and love you for it, and it will be more than enough.