Show your work

you don’t have to be a genius

The image that comes to our heads first when we hear the word “genius” is a person who sets alone, with the super talent to do something great, sounds like we are talking about Enstine, Mozart or Picasso, but showing your work doesn’t mean to be like them.

showing your work is about being scenius instead of being genius, it’s not about how smart you are it literally means: “Being a valuable part of a scenius is not necessarily about how smart or talented you are” Austin says “but about what you have to contribute—the ideas you share, the quality of the connections you make, and the conversations you start.” It’s also about being an amateur because you’ll not be afraid of making mistakes or “looking ridiculous in public” they do what they do just because they love it.

Think process not a product

How would the audience value your work if you’re just sharing the final product, share with them what’s behind the scenes, and show them that nothing happens overnight, sharing the process can be: sharing your journals, through writing them or recording them, you can film, post stories, publish them in research, there are many ways and you can choose what’s proper for you.\

Share something small every day

you don’t need to work for decades, years, or even months to share something valuable with the world has changed, and social media makes everyday sharing possible, share unfinished work you want feedback on, share everything, share button was invented to be used.

and it also helps you to see your work differently ” the trouble is we don’t always know what’s good and what sucks. that’s why it’s important to get things in front of others and see how they react” Austin writes.

open up your cabinet of curiosities

Share your taste: “we all carry around weird and wonderful things we’ve come across while doing our work and living our lives. these mental scrapbooks form our taste, and our taste influences our work” the writer explains. Share stuff you used to have, things that inspired you, ideas you care about, don’t worry of judgments, people want to know more about the ones they’re following, and who knows you might find some of them share your taste.

and if you don’t want to share your own stuff, you can share your taste in the work of others, who inspires you, who you follow, who you read for, and who you listen to. But when you share the work of others, it’s important to respect the copyright, the Attribution, and make people know whose that work is, it’s a duty.

Tell good stories

stories make your work valuable: ” When shown an object, or given food, or shown a face people’s assessment of it, how much they like it, how valuable it’s– is deeply affected by what you tell them about it.” also the writer mentions. Because your work doesn’t speak of itself, you speak of your work, if I draw a triangle, you’ll just see a triangle, but if I told you it’s a mountain, a shark fin, or a wizard hat your perspective will be changed.

but how can we tell a good story if life is messy and a story requires a good structure, a structure that’s sturdy and logical, and here you start your work? in the “show your work” book Austin shares us the ” Story circle” by Dan Harmon, it makes it easier for you to tell a story with a good structure.

Dan’s Harmon story circle

Teach what you know

you might have a skill or experience or deep knowledge of something, and that’s what people look for, as well it’s an opportunity to make your content valuable. You might think that what you know, either it’s a craft or an experience or whatever, you didn’t get them easily but there’s one thing to put in mind: “Teaching people doesn’t subtract value from what you do, it actually adds to it.” Your audience will get the benefit from it and you will get their loyalty, their experiences and maybe you’ll learn from them. think of it as a win-win relationship.

Don’t turn into a human spam

“they exist in every profession. They don’t want to pay their dues, they want their piece right here, right now. They don’t want to listen to your ideas; they want to tell you theirs. They don’t want to go to shows, but they thrust flyers at you on the sidewalk and scream at you to come to theirs.” Yes, they’re human spams, they’re annoying you might think, that’s right and you absolutely don’t want to be one if you want to have fans and to be accepted.

“If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community. If you’re only pointing to your own stuff online, you’re doing it wrong.” be open up, try to listen, to understand, to accept others. “Be thoughtful. Be considerate. Don’t turn into human spam. Be an open node.”

Take a punch

” When you put your work out into the world, you have to be ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

you have to treat this professionally and here’s how to take a punch:

1- breath and relax

2- strengthen your neck

3- Roll with the punches

4- protect your vulnerable areas

5- keep your balance

and the most important is not to feed the trolls, because ” you will gain nothing engaging these people. Don’t feed them and they‘ll usually go away.”

sell out

when it comes to money, people will only pay for what they value, if they really value what you offer them, then be sure you’ll get credit. If you are confident in what you offer, then don’t hesitate, to sell out, sell out what you really think is worth it. Because at some point you’ll need money to continue, to make your work even better, make sure the audience knows that.

“Whether you ask for donations, crowdfund, or sell your products or services, asking for money in return for your work is a leap you want to take only when you feel confident that you’re putting work out into the world that you think is truly worth something. Don’t be afraid to charge for your work, but put a price on it that you think is fair.”

stick around

Don’t quit the show “The people who get what they’re after are very often the ones who just stick around long enough. It’s very important not to quit prematurely.” just keep going

Chain- smoke whenever you faced a question like “What’s next”, sometimes while we are still in the show we feel we lack inspiration but there’s always something to do. “instead of taking a break in between projects, waiting for feedback, and worrying about what’s next, use the end of one project to light up the next one. Just do the work that’s in front of you, and when it’s finished, ask yourself what you missed, what you could’ve done better, or what you couldn’t get to, and jump right into the next project.”

go away so you can come back before you burn out you should take a break do something different, and give yourself a chance to recharge. Here are 3 things that might help:

1- commute

2- exercise

3- nature