Hi crew,
I confronted a great fear over the weekend. . I rented a booth at two farmers markets and tried to sell my stuff.
I offered apple tree starts, kombucha mothers, Permaville Books and a custom USB drive with an online course about sustainable living.
I thought, maybe someone will buy something. Maybe they won’t.
Maybe someone will ask a question and I won’t know how to respond. Maybe they won’t.
First question from the first person who walked by…. “What makes you qualified to teach sustainable living?” I responded, “if you feel comfortable talking to strangers about a topic, I think you are qualified to teach that topic.”
Later, another person kindly asked… “What … is it… you’re trying to do…? ” I muttered something about sustainable living, then laughed and thanked the person for their insight.
The public provides a 360-degree analysis of what you feel you’re bringing to the world. It can be brutal. Or it can be fuel. I’m approaching with the sense that strangers, for the most part, offer good advice. They help you find your blind spots.
Sometimes stuff strangers say can be unkind. That’s when I think people are partly deflecting their own issues onto another. So there’s a lot of sifting that goes on when listening to others speak:
What did they say that was good advice? What did they say that was their stuff?
Either way, it seems the listener decides what message they want to hear. I try to imagine the most benevolent outcome the speaker could have intended and leave the rest. This is hard. And I’m working on this as much as anyone else
Altogether, I sold seven kombucha mothers, a book and a USB drive. Earned 2 bucks after booth fees. And met lots of cool people.
I plan to attend these farmers markets again next week. Looking to get to know more people and further clarify what I’m trying to do.
Thanks for reading
