The fear of being seen

"One of the greatest soul injuries of our time is that we live in a system where we are constantly being extracted and extracting from." - source unknown

Artists are strange creatures (I can say this because I am one). They spend their entire lives perfecting a craft, and when it comes time to finally share their work and be appreciated for it, they retract.

People have different motivations for creating the work they do, that’s true. The common theme that comes up with my artist friends is “If I share my art, it will lose its power.”

Well… an important thing to consider is — what is that power? Where does it come from? 

The power that you give to your craft is defined by your degree of identification to it. Once you start making art for other people, dis-identification enters the mix. This is a dangerous and terrible ingredient. The process of making art is no longer as special because it becomes “polluted” with the thoughts, desires, and stories of other people.

It's a very difficult thing, to create art for profit, because quite often, it goes against the very reason you started creating. 

I think people are afraid of what they will lose as they grow. Feeding their work into an extractive system never feels good.

Most often, the very reason they started creating in the first place wasn't so much the glory of perfecting the art, but the magical, inspirational connections they were able to make within themselves, and those they shared their work with.

When you start selling your craft and decide to step into the marketing role for yourself, a helpful way to reframe the situation is to see it as a return to innocence -- the spark that started your journey. You are not just selling the work itself, you are selling that passion that keeps you coming back to your craft over and over and over again.

Inspiration is a vulnerable place to be in, and the fear that accompanies it can be monumental. You see — we become so good and so confident at doing the same thing in perpetuity that any significant deviation can lead to crisis. Time… energy… it all needs to be reevaluated, repositioned, repartitioned, to make way for what’s to come.

And the question is…. is any of it worth it? Is being seen even worth the effort it requires?

It's easier to stay anonymous.

Maybe... somewhere on the other side of definition is another type of freedom, one where you can choose to some extent how others will define you. 

That's the essence of branding, I believe -- creating a guidebook and system for your expression that others can learn from and be inspired by. It's how you express your value and the unique mark you leave on the world.