(abandoned substack draft)
how to name things
thinking is easy, information architecture is hard
Noticed several of my creative friends all dealing with similar struggles recently. And maybe what I’m really seeing is a reflection of myself in them. They’re creative, entrepreneurial, playful souls who are dealing with the challenges of having had some moderate success in some domain, and trying to find a way to honor their existing work while also breaking free and doing whatever their hearts really want. It’s a challenge! There’s a tension there. Both things don’t easily coexist. But they can coexist, it just takes… I wanna say it just takes cleverness (in the ‘cunning’ sense), but that’s not entirely it. It takes open-heartedness, a willingness to expand one’s awareness…
I have a friend who wants to write poems but worries that people will criticize them harshly and think less of them for it, and also disrespect the intimacy
I have another friend who wants to tell the story of their journey, but worries that… people will criticize them harshly, think less of them for it, disrespect the intimacy
The generic response you’ll often get to this might be something like, “well, toughen up! face the criticism and do it anyway! don’t let their disrespect discourage you!” – and there’s definitely something to that, but it’s not quite enough, I think. I think there’s something smart and sensitive about wanting to protect your intimate work from being disrespected
Petals for Armor
David Bowie sensitive
I’ve noticed that it’s easier for me to use some of my voice in some contexts than others. When I make memes, for example, I sometimes like to be more expressive and use more ornate language. Sometimes ornate language gets interpreted as pretentious. Sometimes it is! Sometimes it’s overwrought. But sometimes its the actual best way to convey something in a particular way. The insight that I’m trying to convey here is… instead of grumbling that tweeting in an ornate way gets misunderstood, make memes instead.
I’m reminded now of an ad for a Masterclass by RuPaul. He said, “Wear a suit. You want to make more money? You like money? Wear a suit. Put yourself together. People respond to it. It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with the narrative that’s already implanted in people’s consciousness. You don’t want to swim upstream. You want to work with what people already know. You can use that tool to get what you want out of this life.”
Sure you could be annoyed that people feel more comfortable giving money to someone in a suit than someone in a ratty t-shirt. But do you want to be annoyed or do you want to make money? You can make money first, and then complain about this dynamic afterwards, from a position of strength rather than a position of weakness.
How to ask for money: allelujah brothers and sisters
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