Saturday we went to a parade in our town. After the parade we walked the food and the pop-up shops, and I did what I always do. I looked at what people had made.
I love that part. Somebody had an idea, built it, loaded it in a truck, and set it on a table for strangers to judge. I make things too, so I notice.
What I noticed this time was uncomfortable. None of it was out of my league. The difference between those folks and me was that they were standing behind a table and I wasn’t.
Two bars
There are two bars to clear when you make something.
The first is getting it to market. You finish it and put it where someone could buy it. That feels like the summit. I’ve cleared it. There are books with my name on them and songs you can go listen to right now.
The second bar is whether anybody knows, and whether anybody cares. Most of us treat those as the same bar. We finish the thing and expect the world to show up because we did the hard part.
We didn’t. Everybody at that festival had cleared the first bar and they were busy working on the second.
The booth that gave it away
The best example I saw wasn’t a shop. Our chiropractor had a booth, and they were giving shoulder massages and small adjustments to whoever walked in.
It was a small, real piece of what they do, handed to people who hadn’t asked for it yet. They were serving the neighborhood, meeting people, and letting folks know who they are. I thought it was fantastic.
What I forgot
The second bar has been the harder one for me. I can finish a book. Promoting it well has been another matter.
Here is what I’d forgotten. I’m trying to make something people will enjoy. That’s the whole reason I make it. Somewhere along the way I started assuming they wouldn’t, and I decided for them by keeping quiet.
The chiropractor didn’t assume. They run a business providing a service. They set out a chair and let people find out for themselves.
I think God teaches on ordinary Saturdays if I’m willing to be a student. This one was simple. People can’t enjoy what they never get the chance to pick up. That part is on me.
