Anytime you create something and share it with the world, you introduce yourself to the opinions of others.  Your creation can be a business, a piece of art, a book or even a new invention. Often is is much easier to fix than to create.  Which means that comments and criticism are much easier to make than the actual creation itself.

Take writing a book as an example.  The author finds a topic or story, builds up momentum and interest, goes through editing and publishing and finally releases the creation to the world.  Which leaves it at the mercy of those with an internet connection and a little time to tell the world what they think. As it turns out, people with time and an internet connection can be extremely helpful or downright brutal.  Worse, they can take things unrelated to your creation influence their feedback.

I loved your book but it shipped late– two stars.

We live in a world now where the creation of new and exciting things is easier than ever.  And the feedback on those new and exciting things is dramatically easier to give and the reach is global.  Which means that those afraid of ridicule, may not release their creations for fear of bad reactions. And those that otherwise would not tell someone their reactions in person, are free to do it anonymously with a huge audience.

So what is an artist to do?

1. Thicken that skin of yours.  The world is filled with people that are more than happy to pee in your corn flakes.  With no real reason other than they have to pee and you have a bowl of cereal. This will happen regardless of how incredible your creation is.  I am under the impression that if you offered a bag of one thousand dollars for sale on Amazon for a penny, the reviews would get 3 to 4 stars. “Showed up in a brown bag not labeled and the money was too easy to spend, three stars.”
2. Release your creations to the world.  You thought it was awesome, others will too.  This goes for your art, blogs, books, businesses and all manner of inventions.  Seriously, even the reviews on a light bulb can be challenging. Push through the noise and release your work.  You can never improve if you don’t practice. This is a gift you are obligated to share with the world.
3. Get those that love your creations to actually do their part to tell the world.  This is arguably the toughest thing I have had to do with my creations.  My experience has been that you need to essentially plague your friends that are even remotely interested in your creations to leave some feedback.  Sometimes I feel like I am pushing too hard. Than I realize I gave them three versions of the book they said they would read and it has been 10 months.  On top of that the review I am asking for will take them a total of 20 seconds, so maybe my ask isn’t too brash, their lack of action is simply due to a lack of reminders.  People you want to leave reviews are often busy, intelligent people. You need their reviews to negate the reviews from people that have extra time without the intellect to utilize it well.
4. Keep producing your creations.  You’ll get better, the world will get better and regardless of the hype, reviews or feedback, you’ll get to unleash the magic you have lurking within you.  Do this without a care to the negative feedback you may receive. The inventor of the bicycle was arrested when he first went strolling through town on his creation.  Did he stop creating?

Enjoy the process!  You have a gift of creation lurking within you.  Share that gift with the world. Additionally, you have friends and loved ones and even other creators whose creations you love and enjoy.  Give them the positive reviews and feedback they deserve. This will keep the circle of creation spinning and will truly make the world a better place.