I used to think trying to gain a following on social media was an activity for the vain. The superficial Plebeians who lacked any substantive passions so instead worshiped the false god of fame. How wrong I was.

For my younger self, the aspiring Jazz musician, there was a definite answer to the following proverb:

"Yes, of course! Music is for music's sake" I would exclaim. "We find these tunes to be self evident!".

These days things are different. I would say the answer to the proverb above is no. Well, at least, nobody cares and maybe you should go home and reallocate some of your efforts to (gasp) marketing.

We are all eyeball hunters now. You either sell your time to an eyeball hunter in need of your skills or you dare to become a hunter yourself. A one-man-band, a generalist, a vertically integrated production line, a digital renaissance man. To not engage in the practice of eyeball hunting is not a virtuous act, like my past proud self would imply, it is choosing not to develop skills necessary for financial freedom.

When I learnt how to code I was looking for a skill that had better financial leverage to gigging on the drums or teaching. Indeed, working as a software developer full time for the past four years has unlocked many things for my family that would scarcely be possible with my old income streams. Effective though this step was, it's limited in scope. I greatly increased the value of selling my time but I am still beholden to the eyeball hunters.

My message to my past self is by all means - learn all the things. Stay in that woodshed, practice your ass off, do that coding bootcamp, build that web app, but know that these things are of limited power. True freedom comes from the attainment of attention.