Creativity is an infinite process. 

Finishing your song isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. 

Time and time again, I see artists put their hopes and dreams in the hands of one song and one song only. 

There seems to be this prevailing idea that because it only takes one song to change your life, obviously this song will be the one to do it. 

And the real lie is that it will be the first song you ever release. 

But this just isn’t true. 

At least not for 99.99% of artists. 

The reality is that any amount of success that comes from creating art is a long, slow process. 

And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. 

Unrealistic standards 

I’m convinced one of the largest drivers of unreasonable expectations is when we compare ourselves to others. 

And yes, I’m as guilty of this as anyone. 

It’s easy to compare our reality with someone else’s highlight reel. 

Such is the age of social media, I suppose. 

But this comparative trap is just that: a trap. 

In almost every instance where you see someone achieving great things, there are years upon years of losses, lessons, and failures that you’ll never know about. 

You might see an artist with 1,000,000 streams on the only song on their profile, but what you don’t see is the multitude of songs they’ve pulled down. 

Or the hundreds of unfinished sessions on their hard drive. 

Or the bots and playlist access they’ve bought to get those numbers up. 

Of course, that’s not to say digital paper trails don’t exist for many artists and creators out there, but even then, how many people are taking the time to dig all the way back through old music and content? 

The answer is pretty much no one. 

We only seem to care about the latest thing, which is why the process is ultimately what matters most. 

It never ends 

The idea that we only need to make one song or one video to blow up, go viral, and change our lives comes from the same place as the fantasy that we will win the lottery if we just play one time. 

Completely unrealistic. 

And even if we do win, statistically, we’re more likely to return to baseline anyway. 

Much in the same way wealth is most consistently built through long-term diligence, so is a creative career. 

Both require showing up day in, day out, and doing the slow, steady, mundane things required to succeed. 

Given enough time, the results may start to look sexy, but the process rarely is. 

And again, the process is what matters most. 

Because creativity is a lifelong commitment, not a means to an end. 

Honestly, if you’re looking to leverage creativity and art as some sort of a get-rich-quick-scheme, I have bad news for you. 

There are literally thousands, maybe millions of better ways to build wealth than releasing music. 

But if it’s truly what you love, creating and releasing music delivers a deep, rich level of fulfillment and reward that nothing else can touch. 

But only if you keep going. 

Only if you keep creating. 

If only for the love of the process and nothing else. 

So don’t worry if your next song flops or your next video fails. 

Keep creating and releasing anyway. 

Because, in the end, the process is the only thing any of us can control, so we might as well enjoy it.