We’re conditioned to be nice (women, especially) and to market our stuff to everyone everywhere (whatever that “stuff” is), and we often confuse “being nice" and “marketing” with chasing after people who are not interested in us or in our art. 

This chasing includes posting stuff on social media to people who don’t care, advertising your stuff to people who don’t care, and marketing to people who don’t care.

Stop it. It’s a waste of your time.

Spend your time doing your work. Making your art. Writing your books.

Spend your time on perfecting your craft. Every day. Never ever stop, and never ever let anyone stop you or interrupt you.

When you complete a project, tell about it to a handful of people who care about you, then start the next project. And the next. And the next.

Exercise patience. Exercise discipline. Exercise stamina.

Then one day someone will fall in love with your art, and tell their friends. They’ll fall in love with it too. They’ll go search you out, and they’ll tell more friends, and so on.

This way the right people will find you without you spending time on it. 

You’ll spend your time on making your art, and you won’t have to “be nice” or to “market.” You’ll stay trie to yourself. You’ll be happy, because you’ll work on making what makes you happy. And you’ll grow your own tribe of the right people, people who in turn will continue helping you grow your tribe.

And that tribe will eventually help you make a living doing your art.

Persevere.

Gif by Hanco Gerber