Popular vs. really good
by Yann Girard
Popular and really good don’t necessarily mean the same thing. As a matter of fact they can be the complete opposite.
You might read a very popular blog post with many likes, shares and comments, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good blog post.
Or you might listen to a very popular song that has sold many millions of records. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good song.
Many times the complete opposite is true.
Your best work might not even be read by a single person. Or listened to by more than ten people. Or watched by more than twenty people.
And that’s what make it so hard to keep pushing. When you think you’ve just created a real piece of art and then no one seems to care. No one seems to notice.
It’s hard to not give up at that point.
But remember, popular and really good are not the same thing. Popular is not always the result of quality. Popular is often the result of many different things.
Like having put in the work of building an audience. Relentless persistence. Or consistency. Sometimes it might also just be the result of time.
The longer someone or something stays around, the bigger its audience. And the more popular it’ll be.
So try to keep that in mind next time you think about giving up. Try to keep that in mind when no one seems to care. When no one seems to notice.
Popular and really good are not the same thing. Sometimes they’re two different things entirely…
