Focus on your best effort

Nothing iconic sets out to be iconic.

It’s not something that can be forced. You can strive for greatness. You can push for truth within your expression. You can believe in your own idea.

But the people are the ones who decide what becomes iconic. And more often than not, there was little more to the birthing of any given icon beyond, “this is something I would like to see in the world.”

A couple guys had an extremely bizarre idea of making 4 teenagers into mutant ninjas and 40 years later it’s worth $18 billion and is ingrained into the mind of every kid of the last 4 generations.

They trusted themselves, loved their idea, and made it happen. But the people are the ones that chose it to be what it became.

I say this because, above all else, your efforts must be true to yourself. You can’t seek out fame, acceptance, popularity, fortunes, etc. Those things may come, but they are not within your control.

What IS in your control is your best effort. Your purest intentions. Your faith that your ideas are valid, even if by no one else beyond yourself.

So focus on the work, the idea, and the execution and let the results fall where they may.

This is the life of the artist.