Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lou Redman.
Thanks for listening.
I want to set up this talk with a story.
A comic gets a gig at a small club in Midtown Manhattan.
She's just starting her career,
So each show feels like the stakes are high.
She prepares diligently,
Practicing different setups,
Feeling into the length of the pauses and the cadence of her punchlines.
It's only 10 minutes,
But in comedy,
That can be an eternity.
She starts her set.
Five minutes in,
She's sweating.
No one's laughed.
People stare at her blankly.
She's a professional,
So she musters the fortitude to finish the show.
10 minutes,
Barely a chuckle.
She bombed.
She gets off stage sick to her stomach.
She thinks she's a complete failure and should give up her career right then and there.
She decides to sleep it off.
The morning after,
The booking agent calls.
She's surprised.
She thought no one would want to book her again.
The agent said,
You know that group that was there for your gig?
It turns out it was an Italian tour bus and no one spoke English.
This story is adapted from Seth Godin's book,
This Is Marketing.
And it speaks to the fact that when it comes to putting ourselves out in the world,
Whether that is in our business,
Creativity,
Art,
That sometimes we're gonna put a lot of effort and energy and we're gonna put it out there and we're gonna get crickets.
And we're going to start taking it personally and thinking that we're the problem.
And really the problem is just that group or those people aren't the people that speak your language,
Your language,
Meaning your specific art or genius,
That they're not your people,
That you're speaking English,
They're speaking Italian,
Or you're playing hip hop music,
But they're into country music.
And so we got to understand that not everyone's going to get it.
Not everyone's going to get the joke and that's okay.
That's okay.
It's not for them.
It's a mantra that I love.
It's not for you and that's okay.
And not only it's not for you,
But you're not for everyone.
We don't want to be for everyone because that's going to be mediocre.
And so it's a lot harder to get someone to understand a new language,
Interest,
Or service,
To try to say,
Hey,
Let's persuade them to understand what you have.
It's much easier to find the audience who already wants it,
Who's already seeking it out.
It's not for everyone,
And thank God for that.
And if you're just starting out in creating and sharing your work in the world,
Your Facebook friends are probably not your target audience.
And so when you share something and it gets crickets,
That's okay.
That's okay.
It takes work,
Takes work to find our people.
And so we need to stop taking things personally and just remember,
It's not for you.
It's not for you,
And that's okay.
You know,
I used to speak at high schools and sometimes I felt like our comic friend where I had a message,
But it just wasn't the audience.
It was hard for me to get through to a younger demographic.
Yet on here,
On this app,
There's a resonance.
I can find my people here,
The way that I share.
I'm not for everyone.
There's people that listen to me and say,
Oh,
This is not for me.
But there's people that say,
Oh yeah,
Lou,
This resonates,
This connects.
And so we've got to find the right avenues,
Find the right platforms,
Keep experimenting,
Not taking it personally.
Thanks for listening.
Know that I am rooting for you so hard on your creative and expression journey,
Whatever that means for you.
Yeah,
Thank you.
And if you like mantras,
I'm a big fan of mantras or mottos,
Words that help us connect,
Like it's not for you.
And I actually have a course,
A 22-day course where I share 22 of my favorite mantras that I use to uplift myself,
To reconnect,
To remember deeper truths.
And so if that resonates for you,
Go ahead,
Check out the course.
It's called Unshakable Peace,
22 Mantras of Hope,
And I hope you enjoy it.
Take care.
