A desolated island
My wife and I were very excited to get off the cruise to this other island to explore it and get to know another culture.
But the moment we put foot there, things looked… weird.
After walking for a while we realized we were not able “to see” the island clearly.
The way the had it set it up was to attract tourists with what they thought the tourists wanted to see: a lot of American stores and pristine streets.
We felt they were trying to impress us, the "audience", at the expense of their true self.
In that regards, they were inauthentic, and inauthenticity can be smelled a mile away.
Don’t take me wrong. The facade was nice and all, and presumably even necessary to the local needs of the island. But it was just that, a facade. We wanted to see who they really were and appreciate their true colors.
It took my wife and I several more minutes of walking under the sun to get pass the noise and “to find” the island.
Little by little beautiful historical architectures would rise from the ground, and a distinctive palette of colors and designs, and artifacts could be now identified. And soon, a whole different vibe was discovered, one that felt more authentic to the island.
“What if they don’t like it?”
Often my wife and I have discussed our creative styles and whether or not we need to adjust them in order to satisfy certain sections of the market.
I mean, what happens if some people don’t like our style, or don’t understand it? Shouldn’t we try at least to please the most amount of people?
Often this thinking would come up after seeing this or that other creative soul producing something completely new, or more traditional, or colorful, or darker, or simpler, or more complicated.
We are often quick to find aspects of other works which makes us doubt if our work is as cool as theirs.
The huge problem with such line of thinking which comes from a deep-rooted insecurity, was that there have been, there are, and there will be millions and millions of people who will always be better than you at something.
Although getting inspired and learning from them is necessary for your personal and professional growth, so it's true that at some point you should give a fuck about others, and just do you.
Otherwise, you would get lost walking other people’s path while forgetting to walk your own.
Some will be left out
As I mentioned on a prior article, “What determines the value of an artwork?”, I explain there are two audiences for any creative endeavors. The first audience is the creator himself, and the second, “the public”.
Among the things I said about the first audience, is that the creations should be first and foremost important to the creator himself. And that if only himself finds it pleasant, that should suffice, regardless if nobody else likes it.
This should not be thought of as a selfish act, but as one of love: love to himself and to those other creative souls, the public, that will be able to resonate with such creations.
Think of the father who in so trying to please and help every other family member and friend, ends up neglecting the needs of his own wife and kids at home, even his own needs.
The creative soul needs to make peace with the notion that it has limited resources in time and in energy, which it cannot squander trying to be liked by everyone, only by the right ones.
That means that some people will be left out, and that is okay.
Conclusion
Contrary to what you might think, to try to please everyone is the perfect example of selfishness in that the hidden agenda is to be perceived well by others; it is self-serving.
Therefore, when my wife and I discuss whether we should adjust our creative styles to be liked by most people, we end up concluding the same: let’s worry about being true to our creative soul, and the right audience will show up.
Like Nietzsche said on Thus spoke Zarathustra: "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
Therefore, don't hide your true self behind a facade hoping everyone will like you. Dance to your own rhythm, and those that also hear the music will join you.
Author: Jason Berberena
Visual artist, writer, and co-founder of Kreation Artzone