A message for artists and dreamers from a 9-year old

Caine is a 9-year old boy who created a wonderful cardboard arcade inside his dad's used auto parts store.

It's awesome, in a kid kind of way. But no one shows up to play.

One day he gets a visitor who makes a video and organizes a flashmob and Caine ends up with the greatest day of his life and a $200,000 college scholarship fund.

Even 9-year olds know what all artists and dreamers know:

You do it because you love it and you're convinced how it should be done

You do it for yourself. Caine smiles and gets joy just from the doing.

BUT -- the thing you do is done FOR others

It's a thing that exists FOR people. It's incomplete without people coming to it and using it. So it's for them, but you can't do it for them; you have to do it for yourself (yes it's weird).

The joy is the work, but it's incomplete until the people come

Caine gets joy out of creating but expects people to engage his dream. He waits for them.

At some point you need help

You need a gallery or employees or cash or an editor or a horse trainer or a stage or people who know how to do techy things. Or a guy with a video camera who shows up serendipitously.

You may not know both the WHAT to do and the HOW to get to the people. Caine knows the 'what' but doesn't know how to get the people to his 'what.'

When the people DO come, it feels normal

It doesn't feel like a "Makeover" reveal moment of melting joy. It's very satisfying--yes joyful--but NORMAL. Because this is what's supposed to happen. You didn't do it for this reason but this needs to happen for it to be complete.

Caine smiles and is happy at the crowds, but he doesn't seem shocked. He's not as surprised as you might anticipate. As if he EXPECTS people to be there because of course they'll be there. If they're not, you're not done.

At times it makes me quite melancholy that the result is always "unsaleable." Work in spite of all indifference is not easy to keep up, but what is easy isn't worth much. -- Vincent Van Gogh

Comments

[Gina]

This was wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

[Gabrielle]

Wow so awesome!!!