Only fools don’t change their mind
Hey, happy Monday!
Have you also been conditioned to believe that to change your mind too often is a sign of indecisiveness, weakness and lack of trust?
Me too.
And it isn’t until after soon a decade as an independent artist, that I’m finally bold enough to say that I think it’s only fools who don’t change their mind.
To change your mind takes courage.
It also shows that you’re open, reflective and adaptive.
How?
Because we rarely change mind if we aren’t challenged to do so, hence changing your mind frequently is a sign of continuous development more than anything else.
Frankly, if there was one word that could sum up the entire artist life experience it would be; change.
And if there was one advice I’d give to new independent artists just starting out it would be; Prepare to change. Many times.
I’ve previously written about pivots, which to a large extent is very closely linked to change. But change can happen within a pivot, as in changing the strategy for said pivot, or changing rhetoric positioning of a new business pivot.
The thing is, you may get more prepared if you reflect some more. But you won’t fully know until you’ve gone ahead and tried.
My entire art career has been built on learning by doing, and I’d like to argue that it’s even more essential within the arts than any other niche.
Why?
Because the entire artist experience is about being in tune with our emotions so that we can move forward feeling creatively inspired and fulfilled.
And how can you know how you’ll feel in a specific situation before you’ve actually done it? You may anticipate how you’ll feel but you won’t have actually felt it yet.
I see it like this;
Diving head first into new projects and experiences (which in our society is otherwise generally advised against… don’t be impulsive), means that you’ll acquire those emotional references quicker. This in turn will become fuel for your gut feeling and allow you to continue to lead with your gut as opposed to your rational mind (where the latter is more easily influenced and manipulated…)
I just made a 180 degree change for a big meaningful project…
And what I’m most nervous about is what people will think. Of course! I’m human!
A couple of weeks ago I dove in, head first, into the world of Kickstarter. I’ve never used Kickstarter before, but felt compelled that it would be the right way forward for my upcoming art book.
Without hesitating too much (I took about an hour to decide…) I set up the pre launch page, hit play, and announced it to the world.
Why?! But you’re crazy, Elin?!
And to that I say; Yes, probably. But it’s the only way I am able to achieve relatively many things in short periods of time.
I don’t dwell on things until after they’re already happening. Because if they haven’t happened yet, it means they’ll most likely change and I better spend my energy and limited time elsewhere.
All I knew for certain was that I AM MAKING a book, and the book will happen no matter what, so I better get on with it.
I promoted my prelaunch page page for about 2 weeks. My motto when being in “campaign mode” is to share about the project somewhere in the cyber space at least once a day.
This can mean anything from, but not limited to;
a Note
An email
A reel
A story
A YouTube
Outreach pitch
By circulating the places where I share the link to my pre-launch I don’t exhaust the audience on one platform, but still create somewhat of a steady stream of traffic.
About 70 beautiful souls clicked to follow the campaign on Kickstarter, and I hadn’t even launched it yet. Fantastic!
It showed me that the idea has potential and I should keep going. It was just that…
Something felt off…
I had spent two weeks driving traffic to an external platform as opposed to keeping it in house. Following expert advice I also began to educate about how to get onboard on this new platform instead of inviting them into my already existing home…
Not only that, I didn’t enjoy the marketing narrative around “support me so that I can make the book happen”.
That is not me. It’s not how I do things.
I don’t allow for gatekeepers to dictate my work and I had suddenly created my own gatekeeper?!
Kickstarter is an all or nothing crowdfunding platform, which means that if I don’t hit the funding goal I won’t receive any of the money and the project dies. Of course, there’s always the option to lower the entry bar enough to be more or less certain that I hit the goal and the rest is just a bonus (and I did consider this option as a way to add another experience under my belt and promote from a place of “success”).
But this too, didn’t sit well with me.
It didn’t feel genuine as I knew I’d create the book even if it means it’ll all come from my own pocket.
I wouldn’t have known that this is how I felt, had I not tried it wholeheartedly. You may even have seen it through the Notes network here on Substack.
I went for it! Haha.
But what happens then? When your gut has received its data entries to update its server and give you new emotions, you need not only to interpret the feelings but also to come up with solutions.
I knew quite quickly that I had to make a change. And as the book is not a subject for change, it had to be the platform.
That’s when it hit me;
Can I use Substack as the crowdfunding platform?
What if I host everything in-house in my new Art Magazine, so that everyone can follow the process of putting the book together while choosing to support it all in the same place?!
After approximately another day of reflection, I thought HELL YES.
The best part about independent artistry (and business), is that YOU MAKE UP THE RULES.
There isn’t some secret formula of how to do it even if most will tell you there is.
Or, I suppose, that isn’t entirely true. Because the fact of the matter is that the secret is always the same; Create more art. Try more things. Make it happen, don’t just think about making it happen. And so on…
Ironically, the action part is the secret that most seem to miss. Because to do something one time won’t cut it. It’s about showing up, repeatedly.
Anyway, I digress.
My point is this;
If there is something you don’t feel good about or don’t enjoy doing you are in charge of changing it so that you can feel better about it.
Whether it’s concrete practices, or involve a mindset shift surrounding something difficult (for example marketing and sales) matter less. The fact is just that something got to change and you are in charge of changing it.
I have never tried to run a crowdfunding through Substack either. But at least it’s a platform I’ve already chosen as my current writing home. I don’t want to stretch myself too thin across various platforms, and neither do I want to stretch my community either.
Because that’s another aspect we tend to forget: If something feels like ALOT for us, it most likely does for the audience too.
If it feels unclear for us, it most likely does for the receivers too.
This is why I always try to ask myself (and my gut);
How can I make this (insert project) as easy and clear as possible?
At least until I change my mind next time 😉
Thank you so much for reading today’s essay!
And you’re warmly invited to come and check out the new pre launch page, which you find right here on Substack.
The book-funding (former crowdfunding) launches 1st of September!
Learn more —> Upcoming art book; Travel The World Through The Eye Of A Needle
Let me know in the comments what your relationship to change is? Does it feel easy, difficult, habitual?
Tell us!
Warm wishes,
Elin xx
Love that you pivoted to what feels right and aligned with you! Bravo!
I love this reframe, it makes me realise how excited I often get when I change my mind, but can layer it with that old ‘what will people think?’ stifler of joy and truth.
We make up the rules indeed!