The bag and the clout, are not mutually exclusive.
Hello, welcome back again. If you missed my newsletter yesterday, please read it here. If you have never shared this image with anyone, maybe today you can repent when I talk about Jesus 🤓
"all of us dey find money, but we dey find the recognition too" - Silas Smiggle
The bag here stands for money, ego, kudi, depending on what you call it where you're from. Some of you, in your language, you pronounce money with your lips twisted in semicircular shapes, up and down, as if they're afraid to touch each other (does EGO ring a bell?); some others pronounce it like the mouth will soon go wide open and swallow the people around them ( think OWO) but in all of these, whenever people talk about money, they're either happy if they have it or sad if they don't. There are those who are content, but they're not the point of our conversation today.
Clout on the other hand, is more about self gratification. It's like that meme where Obama is placing a medal on Obama's neck. It's like blowing your own trumpet (it's your trumpet anyway, who will blow it for you before). Clout is generally creating a buzz around yourself, and in most of the cases, without monetary return. You just want people to know you're there, like the short neighbour who is always shouting at the top of their voice when they're talking to you. Ehen
I don't even know if I should be explaining them but for every building there has to be a foundation, and those two paragraphs are the foundations on which I have decided to bui… write on.
I started from a circle where we'd say "activity is not progress" and it was a mantra we lived by, thereby making sure that we would always put out solid projects - by our standards. Over time, I discovered that I had - on my own - been doing it all wrong.
While I did put out solid projects, I forgot to follow it up with activity. It's simple actually. Chase the bag, but chase the clout alongside.
But I missed it.
This year I began asking myself questions
"what exactly makes so so so (insert names) relevant?"
"why exactly do people consider so so so (insert name) top of the game?"
When I got the answer to these questions myself, I realised that I just wasn't comfortable with 4k followers anymore, not when I can have 10k if I want to or 120k if I'm consistent enough.
I mean, granted those guys produce solid works, but then they have that huge following to show for it or to show off to or to show them off (as the case may be 😏), I on the other hand would put out my solid work and I'd have just a few people seeing it.
It's like Jesus, after all the miracles, now moving alone, without disciples? Sounds weird. I think the disciples were the first thing Jesus sorted out before putting out solid miracles lol. Jesus sorted out the issue of his clout before the bag. Imagine making miracles and nobody to talk about it.
Imagine making beautiful images and it's just your model seeing it. 🥺
There are people who make the bread without the noise and that's how they like it, but if you're one that wants to put yourself out there then don't be shy to ask people to follow you, to ask them to like and comment or to share your works, or videos or podcasts, or whatever you do.
Heck, even the more people you're exposed to, the bigger your clientele pool. It's simple maths and trust me, I know most of us don't like maths, but this one is simple.
Chase the bag hard and bold enough, but also don't forget that the clout is there for the taking too. Again, balance.
The bag and the clout can go together as against what some of y'all think, and that's very okay. Sometimes, maybe the clout is all you need to access more bags… do what you have to do, improve in your craft, but never forget to get the recognition, especially if you'd love it.
Have a beautiful day 🤗
And please, share!
Heh. I see you.🤞🏽
Haha. This is a solid!