Failure narrative

From Seth Godin’s The Practice, this creator’s failure narrative:

  • There is more supply than demand; therefore, most of the feedback is rejection. From the market, from the gatekeepers.
  • The work is created with generally available tools. The group that believes they can do the same job or better is large.
  • The fanbase is transient, and the churn is significant.
  • Negative criticism spreads easier than positive feedback.
  • We work in novelty. There is always more novelty for our customers to turn to.
  • We and our customers chase creative magic. By that standard, almost all of our efforts fail.

Then, successful creators have in their favor the benefit of the doubt and tribal cognitive dissonance.

Seth Godin – The Practice

Notes from The Practice by Seth Godin.

Change someone, ignore everyone. (Seth Godin / Hugh McLeod)

You don’t create a hit trying to please everyone.

Create work that matters to someone. Develop a genre. Be peculiar.

Commit to the journey (not to the engagement).

Great work is work that’s worth doing.

Sales is turning “never heard of” into “yes” or “no”.

If it fails, would you still do it?

Reassurance is futile. Instead of worrying, get to work.

There is no guarantee that the world gives a shit about your mission. Nobody cares; it should be your starting point.

Balance your own point of view and pleasing the audience. How? Through work. Ship creative work on a schedule, without attachment or reassurance.

Art for free creates deniability: what did you expect? It was free.

Being peculiar is natural. And beneficial.

Just because the outcome is uncertain doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

Consistency is the way forward. Work that thymes. Not repetition.

Flow is productive, but desirable difficulty brings us to a new level. The hard work.

Generic is a trap; genre is a lever.

Find your cohort.

A few or one superpowers. Commit to it. We must choose.

Do your homework. Read the essentials in your genre.

Constraints can be a creative source.