Everybody Is Running Ads — Even When They Ain’t Selling Shit
Everybody is running ads.
And I ain’t talking about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or paying to boost a post.
I’m talking about life.
Everybody is promoting something.
How successful they are.
How tough they are.
How happy they are.
How spiritual they are.
How little they care what anybody thinks.
Even silence can be an ad.
“I don’t need attention.”
Cool.
You still just told everybody something you want them to believe about you. 🤷🏾♂️🤣
I’m a rapper. Metaphors, people.
What I’m really talking about is presentation.
Everybody has something they want seen, understood, believed, respected, chosen, or valued.
That’s an agenda.
Not necessarily some evil mastermind shit.
You want the job? Agenda.
You want somebody to understand your side? Agenda.
You want somebody to respect your work?
Agenda.
And that made me look at myself.
I’ve spent years creating.
Music. Writing. Art. Videos. Stories. Ideas.
Creating was never the problem.
But I have looked around plenty of times and wondered:
Where are the views?
Where are the people?
Where are the buyers?
Where is the return?
Somewhere along the way, I think I started believing the work should speak for itself.
If it’s good, people will recognize it.
If it’s real, people will feel it.
If they want it, they’ll find it.
There’s truth in that.
But there’s another truth sitting right beside it:
Everybody else is running ads.
They’re making their case.
They’re telling people why they should care.
They’re giving people a reason to stop.
Meanwhile, sometimes I’ve basically been standing there like:
“Well… here it is.” 🤷🏾♂️
Then wondering why everybody didn’t understand what I understood when I created it.
That’s not authenticity.
That’s incomplete communication.
I don’t want to beg for attention.
I don’t want to become a clown for views.
I don’t want to manufacture controversy.
And I damn sure don’t want an algorithm deciding what I’m allowed to create.
But maybe I had authenticity and persuasion sitting on opposite sides when they didn’t need to be.
I can create exactly what I want…
and still explain why it might matter to you.
I can be real…
and know how to make my case.
Selling doesn’t always mean convincing somebody to want something they don’t.
Sometimes it means helping somebody recognize:
“Damn. That’s for me.”
Maybe that’s the bridge I’ve been missing.
Between what I see and what you recognize.
Because you weren’t inside my head when I made it.
You need a doorway.
Something human enough to make you say:
“I know that feeling.”
Then my expression can become part of your experience.
And if it means enough for you to want it?
Now we’re doing business.
No begging.
No pretending.
No changing who I am.
Just learning something everybody else has been doing the whole time:
If something has value, don’t assume people automatically know why.
Everybody is running ads anyway.
I might as well get better at mine.
King of Swords speaking to you? Email me at kinfolkwellin@gmail.com or hit me on WhatsApp. Let’s talk.
I’d love to know what you think.
My name is Kinfolk Wellin’, and I thank you for your time and support.
Oh yeah, who loves you, baby?
Still thinking?
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