Hey friends,

You create to express, but it’s unclear how that expression is of value to others.

This lies at the heart of every artist’s struggle, especially for those that want to create for its own sake. You make things because it’s intrinsically fulfilling, but without money (and other forms of external validation), it’s hard to devote the ideal amount of energy to the craft.

This is a conundrum I often think about, largely because I view myself as an artist first. So knowing this, how do I make this cohere with the fact that this endeavor is also my career?

Today’s reflection is my brief response to this big inquiry. When you’re ready, let’s dive right in:

​The Tension Between Art and Money​

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Another Thing I Made

I’ve worked on many projects, but one that I’m quite proud of is my self-paced writing course, The Examined Writer. Many of you have taken it, and based on the feedback I’ve received, it’s proven to be very useful.

With that said, I wanted to offer a (completely free) 3-day email series that acts as an entry point to the course. Over the next 3 days, you will learn:

— How to rephrase your favorite ideas

— How to frame timeless topics, and

— How to brainstorm your essay in a matter of minutes

👉 Click here to be automatically enrolled for free.​

The goal of this 3-day series is simple: to help you write thoughtful reflections for the modern reader.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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A Thought I’ve Been Pondering

There is often an inverse correlation between virality and integrity. It’s not an iron-clad law, but I see it often enough where it could at least be deemed a pattern.

When I ask my creator friends what their own favorite pieces are, they rarely point to the most popular thing they’ve ever published. In fact, they often point to the work that didn’t get many views, or the pieces they felt were overshadowed by others. But the reason they liked it so much was simple:

They felt like the work embodied who they truly were.

There’s a funny thing that happens when you publish something that generates a lot of positive feedback. Most of the time, it’s unexpected, so you begin to wonder what was so great about it in the first place. In other words, you question your own judgment and try to find the answers amongst the crowd. And whenever this happens, you outsource a bit of your intuition in the process.

This is why creators often point to their unrecognized work as some of their personal favorites. It’s because they truly believe in the message of these pieces, and they understand that this belief wasn’t shaped by the hands of public opinion. Rather, it was derived purely from their inner compass, which signals that these works were built on a foundation of integrity that more popular pieces may have evaded.

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A Brief Parting Question

If you didn’t have to worry about money, what kind of work would you be doing?

Would it be radically different from what you are already doing, or would it look remarkably similar?

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As always, hit reply to share any thoughts, to respond to the parting question, or to simply say hello. I love hearing from you.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this email with anyone who might enjoy it. Have a great rest of your week!

-Lawrence Yeo

P.S. Thanks to all the lovely people that support the blog on Patreon! It means so much. If you'd like to support my work and get access to exclusive AMAs, offline posts, and other reflections, join as a patron today. A new patron-only AMA will be dropping later this month!