Work that speaks to everyone ends up resonating with no one.

It is no secret by now that the more honestly particular the work is, the more deeply it lands with the people it was always meant for; so what is it with this "seduction" of broad appeal? Why do we sometimes try to make the work for everyone - almost instinctively at times?

Maybe the desire to be understood by as many people as possible is coming from a place that's much more vulnerable, we are talking about the fear that maybe the real, specific work won't be enough for the audience. But who is the audience after all? That's where this article begins.

At some point in life we learn that certain views/approaches to creative work make people uncomfortable (whole purpose of art, by the way, at least as a byproduct), so we decide to polish it down a little bit before the audience itself becomes the one who actually tones it down for us through reactions. Something that has the possibility of shaping the work in the future, for good and for worse.

"I want this to reach people." We get it, we've all been there. Which actually allows us to reflect on the times we wrote for the same audience of 500 people for 7 months straight, often multiple times a day; something that allowed us to set the foundation. And now we don't need to water down our views, because we instilled that in our minds, knowing exactly what we stand for and trusting (evidently) that the right audience will find it. A living case of it.

Also think about it for a sec, the wider you cast your “net”, the less it feels like a failure, because sure, you'll catch something. But did you really intend on catching that? Let us know.

Once you decide to soften your work in order to reach a larger pool, you lose a lot in the process, and sooner or later, you will witness it firsthand.

Every artist or creative has their own way of presenting work, often flawed, but that's the beauty of it. That's what keeps it real, and more importantly, keeps it grounded and rooted in a self-belief. But if you conform to the pressure of feeding everyone as an audience, those are the magic ingredients you'll sacrifice first, and work without personal magic doesn't get remembered, doesn't hold any substance; so it's a waste of time.

Matter of fact, it's a disservice to your potential.

Granted, that watered down work might get a small pulse at the beginning, it will circulate for sure, but no one will remember it after it happens. So why even bother putting that out there? Makes no sense, unless it's a cash grab; but that's not the topic of conversation here.

That friction is needed, it is mandatory. You have to push against something, because that's what carries substance. Why do you think all these water brands keep coming up with new names and new tactics? It's still water (not all water is the same, but you get us), the end product is still water. Per Google, in the US alone, "the U.S. market saw an explosion of mineral water brands from just 16 in 1970 to hundreds by 2012."

“Now you get the picture, Mona Lisa - (Lil Wayne - Mona Lisa)

Ok, it is super contradictory, but how does making something for fewer people make it land harder? We totally get it, but promise it makes total sense.

For once, it creates recognition in a way. The conversation with the audience runs way deeper, because now there is longevity and a relationship is built; which means that the audience will come back, simply because it is real. It is not bait, not pretending to be something it is not, and that's the only thing we want to consume in an oversaturated world.

It's also way more honest, and it makes sense logically. If you try to talk to a million people, you might have to water down your thoughts - especially if those million people found you through something that wasn't really "yours." But take an artist who built a following slowly, knowing exactly who to look for while never changing the work, those million will stay, because it's real. And history is filled with those people, you just have to look past the numbers and witness the whole trajectory.

That precision in ideas is telling the reader that you, the creator, trusted it enough to not explain it to death, not forcing it, and you just have to love it. There is no way around it.

Now the audience is here for a reason. And now we can talk about what we want, without holding back or portraying a different image to satisfy someone; because that audience came and stayed while we were still forming the story. So it is guaranteed that the work will be recognized, that voice is unique, it is not compromised, and they can relate to it.

Now that work will live in conversations outside of the artist's or creative's sphere, because it earned its space to provide something meaningful and unique. It will get recommended, and someone on the other end will probably say "that's the one."

Now the audience can complete the work that the creator intentionally left open, so it's a generative relationship, not a passive one.

And now, the creator realizes that specificity wasn't a limitation at all. It was the only way the right people were ever going to find that door.

And now it's wide open.