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- To Be A Billionaire
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.
My best friend, Silvia, and I were having something of a heated discussion the night before last.
So heated I had to pause the playlist I’d been listening to to give it my full attention.
It started with my question to her:
Is there anything your favorite musical artist can do to make you stop listening to their music?
She said there was.
And there had been.
She was into this K-pop singer till it came out that he was running a string of illegal brothels, drug hubs, and porn sites.
He also sexually assaulted numerous people, some of them children.
You name it; he’d done it.
Another singer she used to listen to was dating a criminal like the first.
“That was my decision as a human being,” she said.
“I just can’t enjoy your music anymore.”
Which is a popular stance I totally understand.
But…
I imagined myself in a situation where one of my favorite artists, The Weeknd, was outed for doing equally horrible things.
Would I stop listening to Blinding Lights?
Would I not bop my head to Starboy when I heard it on the radio?
Would I pretend that Best Friends wasn’t fighting for the top spot among my favorite songs of all time?
No.
No.
No.
YOLO.
The art ≠ The artist
His music hasn’t abused or deceived or hurt.
The only person who’d suffer from my self-imposed ban on The Weeknd’s music would be me.
I wasn’t born into this world to suffer.
[I promised to show you how to be a billionaire by being a Swiftie. I appreciate your patience as I take this quick tangent.]
As I mulled over sharing the content you’ll read below, I remembered a theory I proposed to Silvia during our chat:
That's why I don't like considering myself a fan of these people.
I'm a fan of their music.
Now, if he releases a song justifying what he did, then obviously I wouldn't stand for that.
I think where people get it twisted is when they form these parasocial bonds with the artists whose music they love.
Then when the artist fucks up, your revulsion for their acts inevitably bleeds into their art, and you don't want to touch either.
You’ll see why I may seem a bit two-faced once you read the Swift snippet I prepared.
Here goes nothing:
Taylor Swift is overrated…
Is what those who don’t vibe with her music may say.
I wouldn’t even call them haters.
There are Swifties, and then there are... well, everyone else.
But one thing both groups would agree on:
She has given her all to her fans.
They’ve felt that, and they’ve given her everything back.
It’s never been easier to be a billionaire.
(While you’re here, I thought I’d let you know one of my earliest and proudest achievements in life was sharing a birthday with this phenome :) What’s your superpower?)
My overarching point is you don’t need everyone to enjoy or even accept your work.
Fulfillment lies in nurturing the community you have to the end of your ability.
Fulfillment and, of course,
…Billy Yenzen Billy Yenzen Billy Yenzen…
By default, there will always be more people who don’t know about you or what you do than those who do.
More things you can’t do than those you can.
Unless you’re… Idk... Jesus.
If your vision board reads a little like:
I want to help everyone,
I want to appeal to everyone,
I want to impact everyone’s life,
I will put 100% into studying for this test and 100% into delivering results for my client,
you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Especially if you’re a beginner.
This applies to niches and priorities as much as it does to your audience.
Pick a lane and drive as the crow flies.
I’ll tell you how niching down saved my craft in an upcoming newsletter.
For this profound message — and for it only — I will plead guilty to duplicity.
Sorry, Silvia.
Keep Freeing Right,
Hope. ☆
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