{"id":64942,"date":"2017-09-02T22:08:55","date_gmt":"2017-09-03T05:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=64942"},"modified":"2017-09-02T22:12:32","modified_gmt":"2017-09-03T05:12:32","slug":"dont-care-if-you-have-any-followers-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/02\/dont-care-if-you-have-any-followers-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Care If You Have Any Followers or Not"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cindy
Cindy working on her translation work. Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

The most important person to follow is yourself.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ACCESS<\/h2>\n

DOWNLOAD PDF: Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Care If You Have Any Followers or Not<\/a><\/p>\n

SOCIAL MEDIA 101<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

To follow your own gut. Your own intuition. Your own crazy ideas and ideals.<\/p>\n

To not let any haters drag you down. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let anyone try to restrict your flight.<\/p>\n

1. You are a single origin espresso<\/h2>\n
\"KUROSAWA
KUROSAWA<\/a> x ERIC KIM \/ Boy in bed of flowers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You have a unique artistic vision. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let anyone water that down.<\/p>\n

If you were a lovely, single origin espresso (preferably from Ethiopia), would you want someone to pour a bunch of tap water into your sublime, golden crema? Hell no. You want yourself to be distilled, bright, acidic, fruity, and concentrated.<\/p>\n

2. Most people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what good art (or coffee) is.<\/h2>\n
\"KUROSAWA
KUROSAWA<\/a> x ERIC KIM \/ 7 SAMURAI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your artistic vision is concentrated. For people who cannot have an appreciation for good coffee, they will never be able to truly taste, experience, and appreciate your sweet and sour notes.<\/p>\n

3. Do you value your art according to how many followers you have?<\/h2>\n
\"Dark
Dark man in suit. Dark Skies Over Tokyo.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In photography, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take it too seriously. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seek to get more followers. Who cares, and why do you care?<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on your death-bed at age 90, are you gonna be able to die in peace, knowing you had a million followers? Is social media even gonna exist 20 years from now?<\/p>\n

4. Be your own visual gardener<\/h2>\n
\"Cafe
Cafe Kitsune. Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Be your own gardener. Tend to your own plants. Continue to enrich your own creative soil.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t over-water your plants. Give them room and time to grow. Give them lots of sun, and lots of soil… in order to let their roots grow deep and strong.<\/p>\n

\"People
People walking at cross walk. Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your creative mind is like a plant. You might be nothing but a small seed now, but you have the potential to be a massive redwood. You just need to be patient, and always gather more nutrition.<\/p>\n

You gain creative nutrition by watching great cinema and film, consuming and reading great pictures, and also by having faith in yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u201d faith in your own artistic vision and soul.<\/p>\n

\"Dark
Dark man in silhouette and boot. Dark Skies Over Tokyo<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Where we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going, there are no roads<\/h2>\n
\"Tokyo
Tokyo urban landscape in rain. Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care to look backwards to see if anyone is following you. Rather, be bold, and keep looking straight… into the distant horizon.<\/p>\n

Or imagine yourself on a spaceship, exploring new hidden dark cosmos and space. Ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t nobody following you.<\/p>\n

\"Strong
Strong graphical lines, black and whites. Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Be a visual explorer. Be the one to build new roads. Or be the one to pave new paths.<\/p>\n

In the future, there will be no roads in space. You won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what direction to go. But, you must have faith in yourself, to have the strength and courage to never stop exploring, creating, and understanding.<\/p>\n

\"Man
Man in suit. Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Be strong my dear friend, and always seek to first follow yourself. Your followers may come, or not. But what do you care? You have faith in yourself.<\/p>\n

BE STRONG,
\nERIC<\/p>\n

\n

SOCIAL MEDIA 101<\/a><\/h1>\n

\"Hayward,<\/p>\n

Empower yourself with social media and blogging<\/a>:<\/p>\n