Read time: ~ 3 min. 30 sec. of your LIFE

[Issue #20240229]

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OMG, Reader.

Things are happening.

Exciting things.

I have great news, but I don't want to share it prematurely.

I mean, the contract is signed and everything.

But still...

And believe me, you all will be among the first to know.

And I'm not talking about my latest commission, The Spectacle, which will be premiered in Fukuoka, Japan in just two weeks.

You already know about that.

No, this is something else.

A new opportunity that was brought up to me as of last night.

That's how fresh this is.

I know I'm giving you nothing here, but this is probably my biggest commission yet.

I try to think about how these kind of things happen.

Since I'm constantly assessing the gap from where I am to where I want to be, it's hard for me to accept any success I come by as reality.

I'm always pinching myself.

And it's also hard for me to say I'm good at what I do.

It sounds like bragging, and I hate that.

Especially since I'm always trying to improve.

Especially since I never think I'm deserving of anything.

And yet, as of last night, I've been doing some reflecting.

Things are happening, after all.

I want to share why I think that is...

True self-care starts here:

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3 SELF-MASTERY/CREATIVITY TIPS

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I. Do this and you're already ahead of the curb:

I can't stress this enough: it's going to take more than the art itself.

There are people out there who are less experienced and skilled than you, "stealing" all the opportunities.

And rightfully so.

How can I say that?

Because they are with the times.

They understand that in order to stand out in a saturated field, they have to market themselves.

They have to hit DMs.

They have to get on social media.

They have to attend networking events.

Quality is necessary, but not if no one knows who you are.

Don't wait around for anyone to take notice of your dream.

Make them notice.

Be so good they can't ignore you, but pair that with ensuring they don't.

Be active on your front.

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II. MERE EXPOSURE EFFECT/SOCIAL PROOF

There's a reason why I'm telling you all this, Reader.

As Imaginators, we tend to live in our heads.

We glorify the art.

It's all that matters.

Wrong.

You need to be seen.

When people ask me how I get the opportunities I do, looking back, I've realized it's all mere exposure and social proof.

The "mere exposure effect" is a psychological phenomenon where people come to like and trust something because they always see it.

This recent commission I got is a result of mere exposure.

We've been connected on socials for a while, and I kept popping up in their feed.

But I also had "social proof". I would share my results/successes, and they would see it.

You never know who's watching.

Turns out, they are friends with a previous commissioner of my work.

They see their friend trusted me to write a new piece of music, which means they can trust me as well.

Bam. Social proof.

That's why it's so important to have a presence in person and online.

You have to show up to things and you have to go to things.

That's where the magic happens.

But here's the thing, I didn't get this recent opportunity from the mere exposure effect and social proof alone, I had to do one more thing:

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III. MAKE THE CONNECTION (dammit)

I saw we've been connected for a while now, and I know him to be a well-respected musician.

Hell, I admire him.

And you know what I did?

I reached out and said this:

BOOM.

Things started to happen from there.

Now, two days after that text, I'm sharing the great news with you of an exciting opportunity on the horizon.

I figured out that he had been following my work for some time (mere exposure and social proof).

I had been on his mind as a potential collaborator, but that's all.

It didn't matter that he had been thinking about me.

How many times do we think about doing something, and never do it?

If I didn't reach out, nothing would've happened.

If I never reached out to cement the connection, I'd forever be someone who appears on his timeline that he thinks about for a few seconds before moving on with his life.

To be clear:

I didn't do this expecting anything to come from it.

Did I want something to come from it?

Of course.

But this wasn't a merely transactional kind of thing for me.

I genuinely meant every word.

And it's not selfish, slimy, or schemey to reach out wanting to connect and make magic happen, especially if you know that it'll be beneficial for both parties.

Who's gonna have your back, if not you?

As Imaginators, we have to nurture our dreams.

We have to believe in ourselves and get others to buy into that as well.

If you know you have something great to share with the world, Reader, you should do everything in your power to share it.

The world needs the light your artistry will provide.

We create for us in hopes it's not just for us.

That's the beauty of it all.

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MY CREATIVE CORNER

~ 1 min. read

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