- Aerial Cheryl
"I don’t like your work. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you."
Seth Godin is not only brilliant about marketing, but more importantly the human connections that occur in the process of creating and selling a product. The most important part of that sentence, to me, is the human connections - the connections we perceive and create between each other.
Words, actions, body language are all perceptions of people's reactions to us and our work. And those two are separate things. Something I am constantly challenged to remember. I am not my work and neither are you. This is important.
It is a constant work in progress: reminding the self that we are not our work. We simply create for the need to create, to fulfill ourselves or to bring forth a story that needs telling.
As an aerialist, I create pieces based on a song I heard or a theme I've been given. Eventually, that piece is presented in various contexts to other people and sometimes I get hired to do it again. And often times, I don't. This has led to many, many instances of feeling not good enough, taking a break, considering giving up.
But this is what the arts, and circus more specifically, is all about. The creative process is rarely smooth and easy - it may create something new about you and through you, but it does not define you nor should it determine your perceived likability or self worth.
Read the whole post by Seth Godin here: https://seths.blog/2019/03/i-dont-like-your-work/
Have questions? Want to discuss this further? Send me a message! I can't wait to talk to you!