We create because we need to.
The act of invention, giving form or meaning where previously there was none, drives us and makes us happy. We make art or business to suit ourselves—and are often surprised when our talent is acknowledged by others. Our labor touching someone else’s heart is a serendipitous by-product of creation, but it’s secondary to making.
Seeking others’ approval of your work is a common mistake most creators make. Often I receive requests from young designers asking my opinion of their work. My stock answer is that what I think of your work is not important. What’s important is what you do with it. What’s important is how it makes you feel, how you talk about it, and how you get it out into the world. Not only is it not important what I think of your work, but also, frankly, it’s not important what you think of it. Most of us are terrible judges of ourselves, let alone our work. We’re so familiar with the marks we make that we can’t recognize them as unique or special.
You are not qualified to judge your own work, you are only qualified to make it. Don’t judge it or call it good or bad. You can only make the work and get better at doing it. No artist or author or inventor in history ever knew they were making something of interest. They didn’t look for answers, they lived the questions, taking deliberate action every damn day and allowing the answers to reveal themselves when the time was ripe. The proof of their genius could only be found out in retrospect.
You have no idea what the public will like or respond to. The critical or financial success you seek will come from your ability to follow through with the work you love.
