If You Create It, Will They Come?
I’ve had two emails in the past two days that I wouldn’t have had had I not started The Cream and Writing Every Day. I’ve also had more tweets, links, comments, and fist bumps in the past few weeks than in the past year combined. Well, let me rephrase: more of the tweets, links, comments and fist bumps from people I respect and care about.
They weren’t just emails, they were votes of confidence, excitement, and enthusiasm. They were from people I didn’t really expect to write me. In fact, one was from someone who has never written me, not sure she had my email address, but in fact, she didn’t need my email address, she liked what I had written and found me on Twitter. Let me repeat that:
She liked what I had written and found me on Twitter
Let me back up and make this clear.
- If I hadn’t been writing, she wouldn’t have liked what I had written.
- If I hadn’t hit Publish, she (and everyone else) wouldn’t have seen it.
- If I hadn’t be dabbling in Twitter (yes, I’m late to the party … but I didn’t want to go), she might not have seen the retweet from my Number 1 Fan.
- If I hadn’t poured my heart into my writing, it still might not have happened.
- What’s next? We’re going to meet in early 2013 and talk strategy for the future.
If you write it, will they come? Maybe. If you write it and love it and promote it and put your heart into it, you’ll have better odds. But it’s all interrelated: I wouldn’t be promoting something I didn’t really care about. My “fans” wouldn’t help promote ideas that their fans wouldn’t like or approve of or get some benefit from.
The Excitement is Infectious
- If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, it will shine through.
- If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it will shine through.
If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, why are you doing it ?
Woohoo!
Just wanted to say something about your last line:
“If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, why are you doing it?”
This is a really really important question. Not sure if you meant it as more than a rhetorical question, but it’s worth people actually answering.
Here, I’ll go first:
I’m doing more and more things that I AM passionate about this year, but I still have plenty of stuff I’m doing because I “have to” even if I don’t truly want to.
So, why do I do that other stuff?
Money, mostly.
There, I said it. I sometimes do shit I don’t want to do because I haven’t figured out a way to get paid to only do the stuff I love. Do I hate my job? No way! I have the most amazing clients and partners I could ever hope for…. but that doesn’t mean I love all the administrative stuff that comes with running a successful business. Email, accounting stuff, email, email, proposals, email. Oh, and email.
So, I do the stuff I “have to” because it let’s me do the stuff I want to. The stuff I “have to” do is small, so it’s worth the price… but I’m planning to test some of my assumptions about whether I really “have to” do that stuff.
I think that’s important. We should all test our assumptions about the things we “have to” do. We might be surprised at what is truly mandatory and what is truly possible. Or, repossible.
Ha, I had to laugh out loud as one of the main challenges with your current situation (and mine–and many other for that matter!) shines through, “Email, accounting stuff, email, email, proposals, email. Oh, and email.”
If we simply analyze those emails, who are they from? Usually clients. In the services and consulting business, we might have loads of clients (I know I have hundreds). If only 10% wanted to write me on any given day, I’d be overwhelmed already.
We’re so busy working “for” our businesses that we rarely have time to work “on” our businesses–or better yet, a new venture. That’s where I’m currently struggling. Put in other terms, I don’t have time for this new job because I’m too busy with my day job. But the day job pays the mortgage. Classic problem. How to fix it? Balance, focus, and drive. Do we have those? Yes. So what’s the problem? Time? Money? Stuck in today’s reality, can’t imagine tomorrow? Yes.
There’s some risk involved. I can’t give up the day job (and my house/mortgage) until I have some viable income that can replace it. Is that going to happen all at once and I just bite the bullet and do it? Maybe. Or do I take it in baby steps and make my way towards that new balance, that new goal? Maybe.
Speaking of reality, I have to go to a meeting. 🙂