Up: [[Sharing]] Created: 2024-05-25 Updated: 2025-01-19 I often hear people say, to me and others, *The world needs to hear from you.* It's the kind of statement that it seems churlish to contradict. Who's seriously going to argue that we're not, each of us, important and worthy of being listened to? But is it really true that the world needs to hear from each of us? Or do social media platforms make their money by convincing us that it’s true? I’m with Oliver Burkeman in recognizing that the ‘world’ could absolutely care less what I choose to do with my brief time on the planet. And as someone who truly does want to hear from 27 writers on Substack, I can attest that I don’t have the time to listen to them. Not unless listening to them becomes my main activity. And have a conversation with them, which is what good writing inspires? Not a chance that there’s any time for that, not if I’m also focused on putting my own material into the world. Does the world need to hear from us so we can help someone else? Is that the motivation? If so, I'm going to echo Elizabeth Gilbert's plea and say, "Please don't." [[Don’t Write to Help Other People]] You are reading this note on a site I deliberately created so that I could share my thoughts. I still don't think the world 'needs' to hear from me, but I've realized that I need to speak to the world... or the 1, 2 or dozen people who stumble across Profound Journey.