Focus on Passionate Creation for a Dedicated Audience
TL;DR
- Shipping work you genuinely love attracts authentic fans and makes promotion feel natural, preventing the dilution of effort that occurs when trying to please a broad, indifferent audience.
- Focusing on a niche audience of 10-50 dedicated individuals who appreciate your work enables a sustainable living, negating the need for mass appeal and its associated compromises.
- Prioritizing the creation of work you are passionate about, rather than seeking external validation, leads to more meaningful output and a stronger connection with your audience.
- Iterating publicly based on feedback from a small, trusted group allows for genuine growth and refinement of craft, fostering deeper love for the work itself.
- Consistent daily creation of a chosen focus, however small, builds momentum and skill more effectively than sporadic bursts of effort driven by external pressures.
- Avoiding the trap of "approval chasing" by designing for a specific, resonant audience prevents the creation of generic work that fails to connect with anyone.
Deep Dive
To achieve sustainable success and personal fulfillment as a creator or entrepreneur, one must prioritize making work they genuinely love, rather than attempting to please everyone. This focus on authentic creation and a targeted audience unlocks natural promotion and fosters a dedicated following, ultimately leading to a more impactful and personally rewarding career.
The core challenge for many creators is the natural human desire for social acceptance, which can lead to "approval chasing" or "activity without affection." Trying to appeal to a broad, undefined audience results in diluted, uninspired work that fails to resonate deeply with anyone, including the creator. This approach is counterproductive because audiences can readily detect a lack of genuine passion. Instead, the path to success lies in identifying and committing to the work that is personally compelling. This involves choosing a specific, even obsessive, idea, conducting research that sparks curiosity, and iterating publicly to refine the craft. By focusing intensely on a single, engaging concept, creators can develop a product or service they are genuinely excited about.
The implication of this approach is that promotion becomes a natural extension of this passion, rather than a forced or disingenuous effort. Love for the work fuels authentic advocacy. Furthermore, the realization that one does not need a massive audience to succeed is critical. The model of "a thousand true fans" or, more practically, a core group of 10 to 50 devoted individuals, is sufficient to build a sustainable living. These dedicated followers, who genuinely connect with the creator's authentic output, become the engine for growth. This small, invested audience is more valuable than a vast, indifferent crowd because their engagement is deeper and more likely to lead to advocacy and sustained support.
Ultimately, the takeaway is that creators should shift their focus from seeking universal approval to cultivating deep affection for their work and connecting with a specific, appreciative audience. This requires a deliberate process: choose one singular focus that compels you, make it a consistent daily practice, share it early and often with a select group for feedback, and iterate based on genuine craft engagement, not vanity metrics. By embracing this philosophy, creators can stop producing noise and instead generate meaning, building a career that is both profitable and personally fulfilling.
Action Items
- Create a personal "love work" filter: Define 3-5 criteria to assess if a project genuinely excites you before committing.
- Draft a "tiny system" for shipping: Outline 3-5 steps for consistent, public iteration on work you love (e.g., choose one idea, make daily, share early).
- Identify a core audience: Determine the 10-50 ideal people who would genuinely appreciate your work.
- Measure promotion effort: Track time spent promoting work and correlate it with genuine excitement for the project.
Key Quotes
"if you try and get everybody to like the work that you're doing rather than just you trying to get the work liked it's the complete wrong approach to success as a creator or as a business person again if you make something for everyone you end up making it for no one"
Chase Jarvis argues that attempting to please everyone with one's work is fundamentally misguided for creators and business people. He emphasizes that this broad approach, while seemingly inclusive, ultimately results in a lack of resonance with any specific audience, leading to diminished impact and success.
"people can smell whether you love what you're doing or not whether that you love what you're creating the work that's coming out of your shop the work that's coming out of your mind if you're a writer the your finger if you're a photographer you know the your mouse if you're a web designer whatever people can smell it"
Chase Jarvis highlights that authenticity in creative work is palpable to an audience. He explains that genuine passion for the creation process is detectable, suggesting that if a creator does not love what they are making, this lack of enthusiasm will likely be perceived by others.
"if your work is priced appropriately you know how many people you need to make the intimation of a living to make the beginnings of a living as an and a life doing what you love you probably need between 10 and 50 people"
Chase Jarvis proposes that a sustainable career as a creator does not necessarily require a massive following. He suggests that with appropriate pricing for one's work, a dedicated core group of 10 to 50 individuals can be sufficient to build a living and a life centered around that passion.
"what i would way rather encourage you to do is do the thing that you were supposed to be doing and you know what if you do it long enough and you do it well enough and you do it consistently the market will come to find you over time"
Chase Jarvis encourages creators to focus on their unique path and consistently produce high-quality work. He posits that by dedicating oneself to their intended craft with diligence and consistency, the market will eventually recognize and seek out their contributions.
"you don't need everybody you need a small number of the right people to care about what you're doing go find that tribe through making not through looking under rocks and around corners do the work put it out there shoot what you love design what you love build what you relentlessly share that and repeat"
Chase Jarvis advises creators to concentrate on building a dedicated audience rather than seeking universal appeal. He advocates for finding a core group of supporters by actively creating and sharing work that is genuinely loved, emphasizing that this process of making and sharing is the key to finding one's tribe.
Resources
External Resources
Books
- "Never Play It Safe" by Chase Jarvis - Mentioned as the author's latest book, celebrating its one-year anniversary, and described as a blueprint for reclaiming creativity and personal power.
Articles & Papers
- "A Thousand True Fans" (Kevin Kelly) - Referenced as a concept related to the number of people needed to sustain a creator.
- "Stop Trying to Get Everyone to Like Your Work" (chasejarvis.com/blog) - Mentioned as a blog post that offers a similar perspective to the episode's core message.
People
- Chase Jarvis - Host of "The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show" and author of "Never Play It Safe."
- Robert Greene - Bestselling author quoted on the premise of "Never Play It Safe."
- Kevin Kelly - Author of the blog post "A Thousand True Fans."