You May Be the Prettiest Flower in the Garden, but You’re Not Being Noticed
Spend time cross-pollinating to help your own growth
I’ve read your writing, and it is quite good. You are well-spoken and communicate your thoughts on the page with clarity and focus. Your stories are interesting and informative. Sometimes you make me laugh, but mostly you make me think. You might be the best writer here.
What did you say? Something about not getting enough people reading your work? Let’s take a look at your numbers. Ahhhh, yes, you’re right. Considering how good your writing is, I think you should be getting more claps, followers, and comments.
I know what it is: you’re a beautiful flower in the middle of a crowded garden. I’ve heard about the gardener that walks through and curates the prettiest flowers to sell them as pricey bouquets, choosing them for further distribution to wealthy collectors. But only the gardener knows their own method (which doesn’t seem to have rhyme or reason).
Don’t waste your energy fretting over the gardener’s choices. You could buy expensive billboards and illuminated signs, trying to point to your spot in the garden. Self-promotion is often wasted energy.
I have another idea for you
Try cross-pollination. The idea is this:
- Give some of yourself to other flowers.
- Let some of the other flowers nourish you.
Okay, so this starts by noticing the other flowers. You may not have seen me, but I’m right next to you. Hi there, my name is Ryan. I’m a massive fan of yours. I’ve actually met the gardener a few times, and the results aren’t what the other flowers say they are. That’s why I’m talking to you now — I’ve got a better idea.
Start by not worrying about the gardener. If you get chosen, curated, or distributed, great, but that’s not going to help you grow or get prettier. Instead, focus on what you give and get from the other flowers.
As far as giving to the other flowers, provide them with something that they can feed on. Don’t try to be too flowery (yes, bad pun intended). Be authentic. Talk about the best nutrients you’ve found, or the best way to capture the rain. Tell them about your growing pains or frustrations. Make it personal. Make it helpful.
The next part is critical, so let’s make a big paragraph separator.
The most essential part of growth
You need to accept the pollen from the other flowers. It’s useless to go to the other flowers and talk about how great a flower you are. Other flowers hate that. The gardener hates that. The rich people that buy flowers hate that. Please don’t do it.
Instead, go to the other flowers and find the things you’re missing. Those flowers are rooted in different soil and have grown under a different shade and light. You have something to give them, but you stunt your own growth by not taking from them.
Learn to use the bees (called searches and tags) to help you find the other flowers and gather from them. Some flowers may be more developed or be a different breed, but plenty of flowers have precisely what you need.
Find those other flowers. Take from them. And be sure to thank them specifically for what they’ve given you. Each flower has a comment section tied to its stem. Write something nice there about what they’ve given you. This way, when other flowers come by, they’ll see what you’ve found and will learn themselves.
Becoming the chosen one
Does all this work guarantee that the gardener will select you. God, no! However, this work makes the garden as a whole much better. This, in turn, will attract more paying customers, which means the gardener will have to select more flowers.
Instead of wasting your energy hoarding your resources to advertise your own space, share with, and learn from others. It’s frustrating waiting for the gardener to find you. I know. That will cause you to wilt and eventually die.
Don’t die. Share and take and grow.
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