CARRIED BY YOUR WORKS
I. BUILD A CATALOG
Creating a lasting legacy should be at the top of everyone’s mind. No matter the field you are in, consistency and persistency will always help you reach your goal. The key to keeping your work is alive is by building a catalog.
If you do music, you can’t drop one song a year and expect to be Drake. (Don’t tell yourself the quality over quantity lie, something I touched on in a previous article, go find it beloved).
You have to add to your repertoire daily and give people a sort of never ending stream of your works. Let’s take a look at a few examples
II. PASTOR STEPHEN DARBY
Pastor Stephen Darby was a pastor out of Louisville, KY, who gained a lot of traction online for his prophetic and convicting messages. Truly his messages are life changing, they deeply pierces the soul. Unfortunately Pastor Darby, suddenly passed away and just like that there weren’t any new messages to look forward to, no new spiritual food to feast on.
However, Pastor Darby has so many videos already put up online, it’s almost as if he didn’t go anywhere, there is always a video to watch and his videos are so deep, you can rewatch the same videos and still receive something new from it.
Pastor Darby had the foresight to record and build up his works, now when a person discovers him, they may be upset that he died but they can always feel connected to him and his ministry because he did what he was supposed to do and built a catalog.
III. MY ARTWORK
The art game is a whole different beast. Playing this game takes time, effort, and a bit of money. Where people fail is at the time and effort, just like how making one song a year gets you nowhere so does making one piece a year or very seldom making pieces. Being inconsistent is absolute poison to your art career.
However, let’s explore how did the opposite of that.
A. BACK IN THE RHYTHM
Believe it or not, during my undergraduate years at UAPB (wooooooo) I did not spend much time drawing. Matter fact the only time I remember drawing is my freshmen year and the time I’m going to tell you about now.
In my senior year, I had to do summer school to finish my last semester timely, I refused to come back for the fall, I wanted out of there!!
To keep myself occupied during those dog days of the summer I started back sketching in my mini sketchbook. I rebranded my art page from (JHarryartcorner) to (the__corner) and I started uploaded sketches frequently, finding myself back in love with drawing.
B. 2016
2016, was the year I put the battery in my pack not to let up. It was the year I finally got to go to New York for the first time. This was a frustrating period because I graduated college with no opportunity, I lost my great paying job to go take a test to graduate and when I got back it was hell getting into the marketplace.
Literally applied to over a 1,000 jobs (no cap, I really mean over a thousand!!!) before I got back to it but that’s another story.
Anyways, I got to New York and it was a breath of fresh air, exactly what I needed. Everyday there I drew new pictures, constantly adding to the lore of the__corner. It was even times I had to choose between eating or getting new markers, of course I chose the markers!!
Even after my return from New York, I was able to continue my consistency into drawing, and I am still carried by those 2016 works today.
C. TYING IT ALL TOGETHER
Recently I started an archive page where I post daily, yes daily, previous works that I’ve done over the year. I’ve put in so much work I can flood the TL at any time. Even before my consistent 2016 year, I’ve been drawing all my life so I can post those as well.
It’s crazy some of those works are just getting the recognition they deserved. Even pics I did from two years ago are receiving the recognition like it just came out today. Products that I created in 2017, sitting on the floor of my apartment are now some of my highest grossing items.
D. PUTTING THAT WORK IN
First of all it is because of Christ I am able to flourish in any of this. In addition to that, this is what happens when you consistently put that work in. You can be carried by your work! You won’t even have to make new stuff if you don’t want, when you built up your catalog enough, (why do you think your music publishing and stuff like that is so important but thats another story).
So go out there and put in the work, so you too may be carried by your work!
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