I almost stopped myself from writing this because I thought, “Didn’t I write something fairly recently where I said that even though it’s not Mental Health Awareness Month (May) anymore, we still need to take action to keep ourselves on the right path that way?”
The fact is, a massive opportunity fell into our lap late last week, meaning something terrific for a client. But, as excited as we have been about it, there are going to be others who see the posts about it and sulk. They’re going to pull out the standard, “Why the heck don’t those types of developments happen for me?!”
It’s easy to get angry, frustrated, and down in the dumps when it feels like everyone around you is getting “the breaks” while you keep trying everything you can to get ahead, yet you don’t feel like you’re advancing.
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I don’t know, maybe it’s because yesterday morning in church the priest was doing a homily about “Stop your grumbling” (tied into the scripture that we’d heard), but, I felt moved today to share the following suggestions for those who feel like nothing is going their way, career-wise.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I was introduced to the concept of a feel better folder. Quite simply, you keep a file close at hand with printouts of nice things people have said about you. When you’re having a bad day and/or you’re doubting yourself and thinking that your career is on a downward spiral, you pull that out and get reminders from other people of how good you actually are doing.
The good news is that there are lots of sources from which you can find these!
Authors, take a look on, say, Amazon, for example, at any reviews that readers have posted about your book(s). Yes, even if it’s someone you know who wrote it. Print that/those out for yourself.
Podcasters can look at the comments that listeners have posted under Ratings & Reviews on iTunes for validation that your show is, in fact, having an effect on your audience.
YouTubers need only go to one or more videos on your official channel and read the positive comments that viewers have left there to encourage you to keep on creating.
I get emails from listeners of my podcast, and I print those out and as recently as last night saw one such paper on the printer, which brought a smile to my face. (So maybe that printout AND what the priest said moved me to write this today.)
Another place you can look is on LinkedIn where people have written recommendations on your profile about you. There’s no reason you can’t print those out for yourself too as a source of motivation for, “Yeah, I am succeeding!”
I know, musicians, you’re saying, “What about me, though? How do I know that people care about my music?” You’ll be thrilled to know that there is no shortage of sources you can look to. In no particular order: Spotify monthly listeners, Spotify streams, merch sales, music downloads, social media followers, audiences at your live shows – including those who come up and talk to you on a break or after your show – and the co-writers who tell you, “Wow, I love that. Let’s use it. You’re amazing.” There are actually even more, by the way.
The fact is, whatever facet of the creator economy you’re in, there are areas right under your nose that you’re probably overlooking for the validation you need on a given (down) day. Heck, I’ve even done screenshots of text messages or DMs just to put a smile on my face.
If you’ve already thrown in the towel on 2024 and said, “Hopefully 2025 will be a better year for me,” hit the reset button. There are still four-and-a-half months left on the calendar. Adopt that proverbial attitude of gratitude and finish strong. After all, you’ll only put yourself on the road to holiday doldrums if you don’t get re-inspired now.
Start yourself a feel better file – and by the way, you don’t even have to have a folder, as evidenced by my having said that I saw one such printout on the output tray of my printer last night – and let the motivation from kind comments your audience has shared launch you back to the excitement you felt when you first started into your creator career.
For twenty years now I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Let’s have a ten-minute call so you can take advantage of all my experience and I can help and keep you moving forward.