HE who began a good work

Sarah Kim
Sarah Kim
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read
Illustration (and life reminder) by Mari Andrew

Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that HE who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

I got the email about the job that I didn’t get. All that waiting for the email for the job that I didn’t get.

It’s okay I didn’t want it anyway. I heard the husband who is the boss, is condescending to the wife, who is also the boss. Dodged that bullet.

Right?

There’s this misconception that I love print. Let me set the record straight, it’s not print that I love, it’s the people on the pages. It’s the stories on the pages. The honesty and the vulnerability. I am in awe of their upbringing, their success sometimes despite their upbringing (which has everything to do with proving that cheerleader right, or proving that oppressor wrong, AKA, also known as: their upbringing).

*Sure, paper is great. The weight, the smell, matte, gloss. The Internet and Instagram are great too, but the medium will change and fade, become obsolete, then become trendy again with art book fairs around them and too many Kickstarter campaigns to count, and when they do, those stories will still be there, like they always have been. Stories are not dependent on medium.

Being an extreme extrovert, and a mediocre entrepreneur, I have had too many coffees, with too many people, without ever having had an “ask.” This has been described to me as the season to gather dots. Similarly, (or dissimilarly?) there are seasons to connect dots. (Thank you to my Mentor Evan Gubernick for that).

There’s also a misconception that I can throw an event. Let me set the record straight, it’s not events I can throw, but people I can bring together. It’s VERY different. To “curate,” (yes, in quotes), has become a skill. And your girl can CUR-ATE a room. 100%. Because that moment when Elise Peterson who illustrated a children’s book about moms who strip who love their kids just as much, gets to meet Ashton Stronks who is making a children-esque book, describing the female menstrual cycle to grown men, it’s magic, it’s camaraderie, that moment is what I strive for. Dots connected.

There’s also a misconception that I understand “Influencer.” In quotes, with a capital I. It’s not “Influencer” I’m interested in, it’s right back to my first point, I’m interested in people. So regardless of notoriety or influence or followers or fame, it’s about their story. It’s about them. And agencies looking for influencer strategists and how to best utilize these mini celebs, or account managers who want to have people fill out google forms with their info and treat people as data, you missed the whole point bro. It’s about people, it’ll always be about people.

But for the basics out there, since we work in titles, and bullet points, resume lines, yes, I can make a magazine, make content. Yes, I can “do” events. Yes, I know “influencer.” My question is, do you know what you are asking for when you are asking for someone who does influencer strategy, when you’re asking for a content manager, when you’re asking for someone who “does experiential”?

Consider, then reconsider. It’s about people. It’ll always be about people.

Need you for the old me
Need you for my sanity
Need you to remind me where I come from
Can you remind me of my gravity?
Ground me when I’m tumblin’, spiralin’, plummetin’ down to Earth
You keep me down to Earth

-SZA

Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that HE who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

    Sarah Kim

    Written by

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