This really resonates. I like that you say “ I want to be quietly creating, putting my work out there for people who want to receive my work.” Same here. Thanks for sharing.
I so feel you. And I really appreciate your thought process. For the past year I’ve been very on again/off again with social media, and I still very much don’t know how I feel about it.
On the one hand, it really seems to be an asset to a lot of artists and I worry that it will be shooting myself in the foot to forgo it. On the other hand, well it’s social media.
I still have to experiment a little more here, and to think it all through for myself, as you have. I can see both the positives and the negatives right now!
Yeah...the FOMO is real. I still have the lurking thought of missing out from not participating on certain platforms (and people laughing at me for being silly) and that causes an uncomfortable slow growth of my audience! It's not easy swimming the other way.
All the best to your experiments! As always, cheering you on.
It’s all an experiment! Everyone else is trying to find what works for them just as you and I are! I once worked my way up to 25k Instagram followers only to delete the whole thing because I hated it so much. There’s no missing out, just choosing a different direction!
You have me hooked to the 'bird music'! Lately, I find myself sitting in areas of my house where I can hear this 'music' too. Love the bits of wisdom from life experiences shared by George Raveling in his Newsletter.
Your picture of the tree reminds me of what hope looks like, with the sun rising in the background. It reminded me to stay hopeful in our individual journey, the path we choose for ourselves where we can truly be us. We will grow and illuminate like the sun too.
Lovely hearing about your own 🐤 musical spaces in areas of your house.
I love how you see the drawing. And yes, despite all the one million articles and entrepreneur books and courses out there, it is our individual journey. There's no cookie-cutter formula.
Our job as a person, growing into who we are created to be, is to choose and choose and choose to be and do what is true to us.
That's a lovely drawing of the trees. I hear you about social media. I put in some hard work on Twitter to build more of a following and find more of an audience for my work, but I found that most of the time, I hated spending time on Twitter. I spent about 5 minutes on instatgram and loathed it, and haven't dared go near Tiktok. When I can get myself a bit more headspace (past the deadlines I've got for the next months or so, I'm going to look more at strategies for growth that are about connecting with other writers and communities. There's a lot of rejection in that strategy, but I don't think it's as soul-destroying as the algorithms of social media.
I hear you too. And I congratulate you for being aware, for acknowledging what doesn't sit well with you. That alone is no small feat.
I read somewhere that to choose a platform to grow your audience, choose something that you are already spending time in. Or that you are willing to spend time in. To me, it's really hard-going pushing myself to platforms I don't like or just can't grow to like. So, to create content for them and to be using them zaps my soul.
Of all the social media platforms, Instagram is still ok for me. To a certain extent (if I don't lose myself in it), I enjoy it.
I absolutely hear you about the soul-destroying part of dancing with the algorithms. Hope you'll find ways to grow while keeping true to yourself.
Sometimes it feels like you can't succeed these days without TikTok, without social media, without feeding into the noise. I love this, and I love your commitment "to stay true to what is true." Beautiful and inspiring!
I know right? I've been asking the same question since 1996. (Hahaha, no.)
The irony is, we hear more about people being on social media (and everywhere else) and having "found" success through them. But nothing much about people who are doing well in their work/business without being on any social media platforms.
This, of course, is the case because they are away from the noise. 🤣
This really resonates. I like that you say “ I want to be quietly creating, putting my work out there for people who want to receive my work.” Same here. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for dropping your comment. Glad to know I'm not the only one here being weird. 👀🤓
I absolutely loved every part of this ❤️
Thanks, Fawzi. There's a development on this in my upcoming newsletter! 🌝
I so feel you. And I really appreciate your thought process. For the past year I’ve been very on again/off again with social media, and I still very much don’t know how I feel about it.
On the one hand, it really seems to be an asset to a lot of artists and I worry that it will be shooting myself in the foot to forgo it. On the other hand, well it’s social media.
I still have to experiment a little more here, and to think it all through for myself, as you have. I can see both the positives and the negatives right now!
Hi Elle,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Yeah...the FOMO is real. I still have the lurking thought of missing out from not participating on certain platforms (and people laughing at me for being silly) and that causes an uncomfortable slow growth of my audience! It's not easy swimming the other way.
All the best to your experiments! As always, cheering you on.
It’s all an experiment! Everyone else is trying to find what works for them just as you and I are! I once worked my way up to 25k Instagram followers only to delete the whole thing because I hated it so much. There’s no missing out, just choosing a different direction!
I like the sound of that!
You have me hooked to the 'bird music'! Lately, I find myself sitting in areas of my house where I can hear this 'music' too. Love the bits of wisdom from life experiences shared by George Raveling in his Newsletter.
Your picture of the tree reminds me of what hope looks like, with the sun rising in the background. It reminded me to stay hopeful in our individual journey, the path we choose for ourselves where we can truly be us. We will grow and illuminate like the sun too.
Dear Anne,
Glad it's a healthy hook!
Lovely hearing about your own 🐤 musical spaces in areas of your house.
I love how you see the drawing. And yes, despite all the one million articles and entrepreneur books and courses out there, it is our individual journey. There's no cookie-cutter formula.
Our job as a person, growing into who we are created to be, is to choose and choose and choose to be and do what is true to us.
That's a lovely drawing of the trees. I hear you about social media. I put in some hard work on Twitter to build more of a following and find more of an audience for my work, but I found that most of the time, I hated spending time on Twitter. I spent about 5 minutes on instatgram and loathed it, and haven't dared go near Tiktok. When I can get myself a bit more headspace (past the deadlines I've got for the next months or so, I'm going to look more at strategies for growth that are about connecting with other writers and communities. There's a lot of rejection in that strategy, but I don't think it's as soul-destroying as the algorithms of social media.
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for the compliment.
I hear you too. And I congratulate you for being aware, for acknowledging what doesn't sit well with you. That alone is no small feat.
I read somewhere that to choose a platform to grow your audience, choose something that you are already spending time in. Or that you are willing to spend time in. To me, it's really hard-going pushing myself to platforms I don't like or just can't grow to like. So, to create content for them and to be using them zaps my soul.
Of all the social media platforms, Instagram is still ok for me. To a certain extent (if I don't lose myself in it), I enjoy it.
I absolutely hear you about the soul-destroying part of dancing with the algorithms. Hope you'll find ways to grow while keeping true to yourself.
Sometimes it feels like you can't succeed these days without TikTok, without social media, without feeding into the noise. I love this, and I love your commitment "to stay true to what is true." Beautiful and inspiring!
Hey T,
I know right? I've been asking the same question since 1996. (Hahaha, no.)
The irony is, we hear more about people being on social media (and everywhere else) and having "found" success through them. But nothing much about people who are doing well in their work/business without being on any social media platforms.
This, of course, is the case because they are away from the noise. 🤣