Prostitute Yourself

Prostitute yourself. As far as I'm concerned, that's even braver than waiting for the public to catch on.
GENE SIMMONS

I recently read a Dilbert cartoon where the pointy haired boss gave a promotion to a meritless crony as opposed to a deserving skilled employee. Then, I have to deal with coworkers who call me a brown noser for working like I do. Finally, a very intelligent 9-year-old girl pointed out to me that her teacher's only real talent is putting on a show for the principal.

What does all of this have in common? It has to do with selling out. It has to do with selling yourself.

I hear time and time again from talented people about how deserving they are, and I agree that they are talented. But let's face facts. Rewards accrue to those who humble themselves and give people what they want. You can call this selling out, kissing ass, sucking dick, drinking the kool-aid, or whatever. The bottom line is that an average person who promotes himself or herself is going to do better than some above average talent who wants to be recognized.

I made the decision about a year ago to shamelessly promote myself. I designed a logo for myself that would serve as a brand, and I started using MySpace to meet people and get my writing out there. I also met a lot of chicks along the way. I do not intend to stop there.

Networking, self-promotion, selling yourself, etc. are good. It is good to prostitute yourself. Fuck your principles. If you do anything for money, you are already a whore. I don't see why we can't be good at it.

The fact is that I'd rather be a famous rockstar who made money with my music than be a principled musician waiting tables and sitting on my "integrity." The fact is that I see very talented people who go nowhere in their lives because of PRIDE. Fuck pride.

I am a whore, and I don't care who knows it. I give my customers, contacts, fans, etc. what it is that they expect. I don't see what is wrong with this. And people who hate this are simply haters. They are jealous.

I will continue to promote myself and sell myself. I want people to know me and appreciate what I have to offer, and if I have to beg to do it, so be it. This is why meritless people rise in the world. They have no shame. As for me, I do have merit, and where I don't, I admit it. The answer to this problem is for the talented people to get out there and promote themselves. They don't, and they won't. They'd rather sit back and call you an asskisser. So be it.

"Sell out" is just another term for success. I would love to be a sell out.

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