Years ago I had a young assistant named Chris.
Whenever a new project came into the studio, the first thing Chris (being a newbie) would ask was, “What do they want?” I found this an odd question. Of course, a client wants to attract as many hearts, minds, and dollars as they can, but what Chris wanted to know was: What did the they want from us? How the hell do I know what a client wants? I’m not sure what I want most of the time, let alone what the world wants or what will sell.
We have no control over the needs, emotions, or tastes of other people. Even with all the market research and focus groups in the world at your command, pinpointing what will make them happy is still a guess—an expensive guess. My guess is that the world wants you. It wants your weirdness. It wants your complexity and screwball perspective. It wants your opinion, your humor, and your history. It wants all that’s beautiful and powerful inside of you.
Don’t waste your efforts trying to please other people. Make work that is meaningful to yourself first. Create work or a business that reflects your genuine passion. Your enthusiasm at the cellular level creates excitement and energy that radiates outward. You become a beacon, attracting your people, your tribe, your audience, even clients.
I work to make myself happy. This makes my clients happy. More importantly, it makes their audience happy.