"The Thing..."

When it comes to creative work, I find the best strategy, is to just do the work. Put your head down, or, well, okay, maybe hold your head up high ("fuck them all"), and, plunge right in, damn the torpedos. One of my acting teachers once told me the key to being an actor was the determined bullishness, to really, really want to do the work, and to do it, no matter what, no questions asked. She implied, "talent" wasn't the thing, talent was maybe even beside the point,  it was "doing the work," and pushing forward with a determined relentless, like that Shark in "Jaws," that was actually the most important thing. I still think it's the best advice I ever got, and can applied to pretty much everything I've ever done in the creative realm; acting, writing, directing, guitar-playing, songwriting, singing, performing, etc.  As creators we have no power over how things will be perceived, or accepted. We can't demand popularity or attention. And if we are doing the work for popularity and attention we are most likely lost. I think it's best to think of it all as a mission, a calling, sort of like a priesthood.  We do the good work, because we must, it's the most important thing we can do, it is a distillation of the best of us.  Do the work. Do the fucking work.  Always be doing the work. Do it to the best of your abilities. Put your heart, head, soul into it. By doing the work, we create the best version of ourselves. Inspired and inspiring. That's the thing.