I’ve been in love with writing for a long time and when I get feedback from people to the tune of, this changed my life, I’m stunned. Mostly because this is something that comes naturally to me and lifts my heart so high. To see that it brings other hearts with me is… (even writers who can’t shut up sometimes can’t find the right word).
You can feel someone’s heart when they’ve commented on something you wrote from a very personal space because that person had to go to the same space within themselves to feel what you felt. It resonates with them and encourages them. The worst part of the journey of life is feeling as though we’re alone on the road. Especially when we’ve come to a road riddled with potholes and adversity. To know someone has walked that road and hasn’t fallen apart, or that maybe they’ve even retraced their steps on that road to meet you is powerful. You gain hope by hearing another’s story and seeing what they’ve done with their pain. You learn that nothing happens for nothing.
The definition of a patron is “a person who gives financial or other support to a person, organization, cause, or activity.” The second part of the definition is “a customer, especially a regular one, of a store, restaurant, or theater.” You and I are both patrons of various things, from where we buy our clothes to where we buy our coffee. We see value in something and in exchange we pay what we think is a reasonable price to obtain it.
The marketplace looks different now than it did twenty or even ten years ago. In the early 90’s, standing in line in a crowded public space to get your morning coffee would have been looked at as insane. But most of us do it every single morning. I do it every single morning. The way the marketplace has changed also lies in how we support the things we love. Before, I would go to Best Buy when a new album came out that I was excited to get. Now, I stream the album through Apple Music. Before, people would have to wait for their favorite authors to put out new works which would often take years. Now, people are putting out continuous content through blogs, vlogs and other digital media platforms.
I posted a video yesterday explaining a new page I launched on a website called, PATREON. There are a lot of people creating really great content out there that changes and affects lives in a big way. Patreon was made so that content creators could have a means to attach a reasonable price tag to the goods that they put out. A way for consumers to contribute to work and a cause that they believe in. Again, recognizing value and paying what we believe to be a reasonable price.
Many times when you share your dream with someone it gets shot down. It gets labeled as a pipe dream attached with a grim forecast that you’ll starve and live on the streets. Which is possible. But success is just as possible, if not more so. We shouldn’t shy away from making money doing what we love to do. And we shouldn’t shy away from seeking levels of monetary contribution for the work we put into something. If as you’re reading this you can pull to mind either this or another piece of my writing that has helped you in some way, consider becoming a patron. It starts as little as ONE DOLLAR PER MONTH! Not a dollar a day or a week, but a month.
To those who have supported me with encouraging words on my posts, texts, phone calls, burritos, giving me huge hugs, coming to my book events, buying my books, becoming Patrons on my Patreon page, and those I haven’t even heard from yet… Thank you. Really. Thank you. I truly don’t think that you understand the impact of what you do, but I’ll say this… It’s changed my life.
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