To be selfish is to do something for yourself.

Creating selfishly means that what you create is done with the purpose of achieving what you find valuable.

An example of things you might find valuable are:

• to be profitable with your work
• to dominate your niche market
• to network

It surprises me how many artists do not first identify and commit to pursuing what they view as valuable and instead let the opinions of others sway their pursuits.

It can be destructive to have the views of others dictate your style and preferences because your work can quickly begin to feel disingenuine.

This is not to say that you must eliminate all opportunities that do not strictly hold to your niche. I’ve experienced a lot of growth in reaching outside of my creative style. But these diverse opportunities led back to my goal, achieving what I viewed as valuable.

Turn down opportunities that do not get you closer to accomplishing what you value.

When you commit to creating something of value you build a foundation for the rest of your creations.

This identified purpose becomes your brand and draws like-minded people to you.