Earth Life Writer

“The customer doesn’t know what he wants… you f*cking give it to him.” Noel Gallagher of Oasis got me thinking.

When interviewed about how much he cares about consumer feedback, he remarked:

“The consumer didn’t f*cking want Jimi Hendrix, but they got him, and it changed the world, and the consumer didn’t want Sergeant Pepper’s, but they got it and they didn’t want the Sex Pistols.“

“The customer doesn’t know what he wants… you f*cking give it to him.”

The message may have been delivered abruptly, but I see what he means. His point is that it’s unwise to get swept away by other people’s comments about what you produce and offer to the world.

As a writer, I care if my writing helps my readers or makes their day a bit brighter, but I’m not concerned about what people think they need. If people like what I write, in which case, I’m glad. If they don’t like it, then no hard feelings. I will write unapologetically, and people either get on board with it or don’t.

Moreover, as a former teacher, many of my students over the years made requests, and some even told me what I “should” do. Even though it’s pretty impertinent for a student to instruct a teacher how to do his job, I still listened. Sometimes, I did what they suggested, and sometimes, I did not. The results were similar: sometimes their suggestions proved helpful, and they were happy, sometimes quite the opposite.

My underlying message from Noel Gallagher’s words was that although it pays to listen, trying too hard to please people in your creative pursuits often won’t benefit you significantly and will probably wear you out.

So, to summarise, be open to suggestions without letting your ego get in the way, but do your thing without getting excessively preoccupied with what people think about it. It’s all about balance.

Like I said earlier, I hope reading this was a positive experience for you, and if it didn’t, well, don’t look back in anger. I certainly won’t.