Focus on what you REALLY care about

If you’re trying to be an artist for the view counts and the followers, you’re probably going to be miserable.

I’ve been an artist as long as I can remember. My earliest memories involve drawing. And while I’ve taken a couple breaks from it over my 45 years, I’ve rarely not been obsessed with refining my artistic expression. And, to me, that means figuring out how to extract the most possible joy and minimize the most possible frustrations.

None of that really has to do with what’s happening on my social media.

Social media is just a tool I use to get eyes on my work, so that I can make some sales.

And I know what you’re thinking… “WELL DOESN’T THAT MEAN YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR VIEWS AND FOLLOWERS!”

Yes and no. I care about enjoying my work. I care about sharing that joy. And I know in the deepest parts of my soul that THAT’S what brings attention to my page.

If I’ve done a piece of art that I’m super proud of, and it gets a view count below my “expectations”, I’m stealing joy from myself. I’m taking something I love and putting conditions on that love. “You better get me 100k views or I’m going to be miserable!”

The views and followers are going to go up and down. I’ve had streaks where my account is on fire! Every vid does great and the ones that excel REALLY excel.

But I’ve also had the down streaks (comparatively). Where views are down, follower growth goes stagnant, etc.

As far as I can tell, it has little to do with the quality of my work. It can simply be a tendency of the masses to become obsessed with you, that obsession eventually fades, and it all comes in waves.

The only thing that’s predictable is its unpredictability.

Why would I ruin this thing I love by placing unrealistic expectations on the universe about its acceptance?

I accept it. I love it. And the purity of that is what I want others to embrace, appreciate, respond to, and be inspired by.