Member-only story
The Ripple Effect
A practical case for creating from the heart, instead of for the views
When you make anything — a product, painting, essay — and no one responds, did you even create anything at all?
It’s the question that keeps any emerging builder, creator, or writer up at night. But it’s the wrong question.
Because we make art, not to attract views or make money. We make it to communicate truth, to experience life, to become a little bit more of the people we want to be. We make it to build communities, and scale a sense of belonging. And yes, off the back of doing all of that well and with consistency, we can attract views and make money.
The biggest sink hole for emerging creators is focusing on the results instead of the conditions — chasing views, subscribers, and likes, instead of trying to perfect their craft or build a strong community.
Take Yes Theory, for example. They are the gold standard for digital community, and have created some magnificently clickable pieces of content. But when I ask people (which I do frequently) which video converted them to being a Yes Theory fan, their answers are never one of the big hits. And almost always reference an extremely personal one.
