I've spent my entire life working for others, either in a corporate setting or in a gig job. I'm accustomed to following rules and doing the basics. I feel less inclined to challenge myself when I’m working for someone else. I generally do what's required—no more, no less. This doesn't mean I'm a shitty employee, it simply means I do my job and then clock out.

By writing daily and continuing my self-education journey, I am consciously training my mind to delve deeper into understanding my actions and decisions.

I'm realizing it's not the circumstances that prevent me from greatness. Instead, it's my hard wiring of giving "just enough" and then coasting by.

The great thing is, now I'm aware and holding myself accountable.

On the Sunday of Halloween weekend, I came up with a simple guerrilla marketing idea. I planned to purchase some candy and attach an Eventbrite barcode to it at the venue entrance of my upcoming show.

I bought the candy. Designed the barcodes and began assembling…

My plan was to display a drilled pumpkin filled with candy and a show poster at the entrance of Precinct, which is the venue for my show.

Lo and behold, doubt starts to creep up on me. I begin to second-guess myself, thinking, "What if I can’t find parking close enough?" or "What if the owner gets upset about this?", blah, blah, blah.

But I knew exactly what was going on. My hard wired subconscious was doing it’s thing, so I told myself “No, you’re going to complete the task that you started even if it flops”. But it didn't flop. I found a meter right in front of the venue and made two trips with all my stuff. Everything worked out perfectly and when I left that night all the candy was gone. Was that so hard? No, and it actually empowered me to stop doubting and do.

SHOW UP AND DO THE WORK

I could easily become preoccupied with whether or not my pumkin stunt translated into ticket sales, but I won't. I showed up and did the work. That's all anyone can do, and I truly believe the universe rewards that, whether we see it or not.

This is my business. Why wouldn't I want to promote it?

As I start building my creative empire, I often fall into the trap that if I'm not earning money, then I'm not really working.

The hours spent building, creating and marketing go unnoticed or underappreciated because there wasn’t a direct deposit into my bank account at the end of the week.

I then get anxious and discouraged and try to grab whatever work-related income is available instead of hunkering down and focusing on how to make what I'm working on sustainable. This is partly due to my hard wiring and also because I don't want to be held accountable if things fail.

It’s a marathon not a sprint.

BOOK REVIEW

I’m currently reading, Purple Cow by Seth Godin. So far, it's a fun read, examining how marketing has evolved and what's required to stand out from the crowd.

One main takeaway is to not play it safe.

I consider my art to be niche, but sometimes I worry that I might be too different. That, perhaps I need to appeal to a broader audience.

I almost changed the title of "Möther’s Creme Diaries" into something easier to understand. All with the hope of being accepted by more people. The more friends you have the cooler you are, right?

10/31/2023 - MÖTHER’S CREME DIARIES

My Halloween show at Precinct was incredible. The venue was very accommodating, and I was really impressed with their technical system.

I've made a few tweaks to the script since the first show, which looked fantastic.

A big takeaway from the event was the timing. I believe that holding the show at 7 PM in a bar on Halloween hurt our numbers. I was hoping our show would be the start of the party.

Another key point is not to rely on the later "headlining" show to draw in guests.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

I’m feverishly adapting, “Debbie Does Discount” as the next episode of our live show. No ideas when and where but, I'm excited to apply everything I've learned so far to the next one.

I'm also developing a concept for a YouTube show.

It’s a low overhead drag queen acting competition show.

Remember, from now on, everything I do creatively must have a smart return on investment (ROI).

I’ll update you on the next one.

Thanks for reading xx

Derek Viveiros

P.S. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].