September 21, 2025 • 24 mins
Criticism and rejection in art can feel a lot like passing a kidney stone—sharp, painful, and definitely not something you want to experience. In this episode, we're diving deep into this rather unique analogy, exploring how those pesky critiques can actually help us grow stronger, just like surviving a kidney stone ordeal. I'll share my personal adventures with these little buggers and how they’ve surprisingly mirrored my creative journey. We’ll also chat about the importance of separating ourselves from our work, because let’s be honest, nobody wants to be called ugly—especially not our artistic babies! So grab a comfy seat, maybe a glass of water (hydration is key, folks!), and let’s tackle the ups and downs of artistic rejection together.
Dealing with Criticism and Rejection
Welcome back to The New Artist’s Compass. Today we’re
getting real about criticism and rejection. Both are as natural in the creative
process as kidney stones are in life—painful, unwelcome, but sometimes
unavoidable. And just like I recently had to pass one of those tiny nightmares,
dealing with rejection can leave you doubled over, questioning your choices,
and wondering why the universe insists on testing your endurance.
Here’s the thing: rejection isn’t a verdict on your worth as
an artist. It’s a kidney stone—sharp, unexpected, and it feels huge in the
moment, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s tiny. Painful, yes.
Life-ending? Not even close.
The Kidney Stone Metaphor
- Criticism can feel sharp and painful, but like a kidney stone, it eventually passes.
- You’re not defined by the pain, but by how you handle it.
Separating Self from Work
- Rejection of your art isn’t rejection of you.
- Learning to detach helps keep creativity flowing.
Constructive vs. Destructive Feedback
- Not all criticism is created equal.
- How to spot the difference and use what actually helps.
Resilience as a Creative Muscle
- Every “no” or negative review is a rep in building creative strength.
- Over time, rejection becomes less personal and more fuel
Finding Humor in the Hurt
- Using levity (like the kidney stone tie-in) to diffuse the sting.
- Humor makes space for growth and healing.
Topics covered in this series
Sharing Your Work Online for the First Time
Dealing With Criticism and Rejection
Finding (or Building) an Artistic Community
Collaboration as a Creative Catalyst
Staying Motivated Long-Term
Art Challenges & Social Media Trends
Mental Health & Creativity
Art Challenges & Social Media Trends
Setting Up a Creative Workspace
Creative Constraints & Prompts
Measuring Growth as an Artist
Why Do You Create?
When to Call Yourself an Artist
Lessons From a Year of Creating
Setting Creative Goals Without Killing the Joy
Takeaways:
- Criticism and rejection are like kidney stones: painful, sharp, and inevitable, but they pass!
- Just like dealing with a kidney stone, facing criticism helps us emerge stronger and wiser in our creative journey.
- It's crucial to separate yourself from your work; the critique is about your piece, not you as a person.
- Analyzing feedback can be beneficial; it’s like examining a kidney stone to prevent future ones from forming!
- Embrace criticism with humor, because getting through it only makes your future work even better!
- When faced with rejection, remember: it's not about you, it's about the art you create, so keep creating!
Links referenced in this episode:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
So something I have recentlydealt with is I recently passed a
kidney stone.
I know, not fun for me.
It definitely wasn't fun.
But you know what?
It got me thinking.
Criticism and rejection in artfeel a lot like passing a kidney
stone.
You know, it's sharp, it'spainful, can't ignore it.
(00:26):
But just like a kidney stone,this too shall pass.
And you're usually stronger afterward.
(00:58):
Welcome to Create Art Podcast.
I'm your host, Timothy Kim O',Brien, and I use my 30 years of experience
in the arts and educationworld to help you tame your inner
critic and create more thanyou consume.
So in 2025, I started up a newseries called the New Artist Compass.
(01:21):
And I'll be tackling a numberof topics and sometimes we'll have
conversations with different artists.
Other times it'll be like thisepisode where it'll be a one on one
with me and you.
And yeah, I.
This one is very timelybecause I've had kidney stones in
(01:44):
the past and they're not fun.
And criticism and rejectionreally feel like passing a kidney
stone.
So we'll be talking aboutkidney stones, rejection and criticism,
and a lot of the similaritiesbetween the two.
(02:04):
But here's the thing.
I'm back here with you.
The kidney stone didn't stopme, and criticism and rejection shouldn't
stop you.
As a matter of fact, there'ssome good things about that, and
that's what we're going totalk about on this episode.
(02:29):
So if you've never had akidney stone, talk to somebody that
has.
So far, I've had a grand totalof, oh, I don't know, three, six,
maybe seven kidney stones.
And I actually just recentlypassed one, and I have another one
that I have to take care of.
(02:51):
And, you know, criticism canfeel a lot like that kidney stone.
It's painful, it's sudden, itcan be disruptive sometimes, you
know, that kind of pain anddisruption, that can be rejection.
And criticism can feel a lotlike rejection because it's, you
(03:15):
know, we, we talk aboutbringing things into the world.
And I know for me, with myart, I'm always, you know, kind of
commenting on what I'm seeingand then saying to my audience, let's
compare this, let's compare notes.
And when I hear crickets orwhen I get critiqued by it, sometimes
(03:42):
that can be really painful.
And with criticism andrejection, there's ways to do it.
You know, one of the ways Ilearned in the military and in, in
the art world is to treat itlike a sandwich.
(04:03):
You put bread on Both ends.
You put the in the middle.
So good, bad, good.
And then you're done and get out.
That's a good way to give criticism.
But what if you're on thereceiving end of it?
You know, realizing somebody'scalling your baby ugly.
(04:24):
That's a lot to take.
That's a lot to take.
And you're going to get thatin life and with your audience.
And it's unavoidable becauseyou're alive and you're a human being,
and you can't really stop itfrom happening because people are
going to have opinions aboutyour work, and that's okay.
(04:46):
Let's turn that on its head.
Let's turn that fear of painon its head and go, you know what?
They disliked it so much thatthey made a comment about it.
I'm not hearing crickets.
That's not bad.
They were impacted by it somuch that they decided to comment
(05:11):
on it.
And if we look at that commentas, you know what, this person is
being generous and they'retrying to help me grow, what's wrong
with that?
So realize it's going to be painful.
Somebody's going to call yourbaby ugly.
You're a human being.
It's unavoidable, and that's okay.
(05:41):
So now that we know that it'sgoing to happen, we've prepped ourselves
for it.
We've, you know, we've put onour armor.
We've got our thick skin on.
We know what's going to happen.
Somebody's going to saysomething about our work.
They're either going to, youknow, really love it, or they're
going to tear it apart and saywhy it's wrong and.
(06:01):
And this and that.
The other thing.
So we're prepared.
And now what we need to do isrealize it's not personal.
You're going to separateyourself from the work.
They may be calling your babyugly, but they're not calling you
ugly.
Okay?
It's like a kidney stone.
(06:23):
It.
You're.
You have the kidney stone.
You created the kidney stone.
But the kidney stone does notdefine who you are.
It's not you.
It's.
Your body has created this andyou're passing it and it's out of
your system.
And, yeah, it looks like thatthere's a reason why it's called
a kidney stone.
It looks like a stone.
(06:43):
It looks like gravel.
And, well, depending on howbig it is.
The one I recently passed was10 millimeters.
I have a 11 millimeter one and10 millimeters doesn't seem like
a lot.
But I got two calls from thenursing staff at my urologist going,
are you okay?
And they were like, that's huge.
(07:06):
You're in pain, you're good.
And yes, I am good.
You know, it happened and all that.
It is out of me.
It looks ugly.
I might even include a pictureof the kidney stone at the end of
this episode.
So if you're watching it onYouTube, stay tuned, you too can
see my kidney stone.
(07:28):
And if you're listening juston a regular podcast app, I'll have
it in the show notes there for you.
But it's a rejection of the peace.
It is not a rejection of you.
So separate yourself from that.
Yes, it came from you, but itis not you.
That's the main idea I'mtrying to get across to you here.
(07:51):
It is something that youbrought into the world, but it is
not you because somebody elsebrought you into the world, namely
your mother.
So just remember that it's notyou that they're rejecting, it's
not you that they'recriticizing, it's the piece.
And when we have that distancefrom it, it kind of softens the blow.
(08:16):
So whatever they're sayingabout the piece, that's fine.
They can say whatever theywant to about the piece.
Maybe they don't understandit, maybe they got the wrong idea
of it.
So that's where you got tocritique the critique or, you know,
really examine the rejectionof the piece.
Was it a simple thing thatthey didn't understand it?
(08:38):
Was it a simple thing thatthey got the wrong impression of
it?
And if that's the case, thenthat's going to be ammunition for
you for your next piece tomake it, if you want more relatable,
more understandable.
So that way, that kind ofrejection, that kind of critique,
(09:00):
it doesn't happen again.
So I hinted at this in theprevious section.
We want to analyze thecriticism and the rejection.
You know, with kidney stones,they always want you to bring them
(09:22):
in.
They've always wanted me tobring them in after I've passed them
to analyze to see what, whatcaused that stone to happen, what's
it made of, what can we do,diet wise or medical, with medicines
that can help prevent those stones?
Same thing with criticism isyou need to analyze the criticism
(09:45):
and the rejection and some ofthe critiques, some of the criticism,
some of the rejection that youget maybe from people that are not
your target audience.
So that, that's, you reallyneed to know who that target audience
is.
Who is this work for?
(10:05):
Maybe it's not for the personthat received it and critiqued it
or rejected it.
Maybe it's for somebody elseand it's okay if it's not for everybody.
You know, this kidney stoneepisode dealing with rejection is
not going to be for everybody.
There's going to be somepeople that have had kidney stones
that go, oh, God, I don't everwant to remember that again.
(10:30):
But I think it's importantthat we take a look at the criticism
and the rejection and reallyanalyze where it's coming from.
Is it coming from a placewhere they want to help us, or is
it coming from keyboardcowboys that hate everything?
Back in the day, when I wasreally into punk rock music, there
(10:55):
was people in the scene that,you know, said, oh, these guys have
sold out and, you know, we'renot going to listen to them again.
And they're, you know, they'retrash, they're junk.
And with bands evolving asartists and evolving their sound
and, yeah, maybe some of themdid sell out because, you know, being
(11:15):
a punk, being in a punk rockband is not going to necessarily
lead to fame, fortune, and aneasier life.
Some of that criticism, youjust need to let it go because it's
not for those people.
Some of that criticism youreally need to take to heart.
Is it coming from the peoplethat are your true fans, that are
(11:38):
your true followers, or is itcoming from somebody that is just
going to poo poo anything?
I mean, they'll look atMichelangelo's David and go, yeah,
well, you know, should haveput a cod piece on there.
Or, you know, it doesn't lookrealistic enough to me.
Well, then they should get upthere and try it, quite frankly.
(11:59):
So, you know, sometimes when Iget criticism of my pieces or I hear
crickets, which, you know,sometimes is rejection, sometimes
that silence that you hearcould be people are really thinking
about it too.
Think about that.
You know, if you get.
If you're getting silence,maybe you have struck a chord with
somebody that has reallyreached them down deep in their core
(12:22):
and they need to process it.
So getting silence backsometimes not necessarily a bad thing.
If it's, you know, causingpeople to think sometimes it is a
bad thing.
And then you go, wow, thiswasn't for them and that's okay.
Or my message wasn't clearenough, so I need to work on, you
(12:47):
know, what message I'm tryingto send out.
So all these things are goingto help you.
So with the kidney stone,you're getting rid of stuff out of
your body that doesn't need tobe in There, Yeah, it hurts, it's
painful.
Sometimes there's bloodinvolved with it.
Not going to sugarcoat it atall for you because nobody sugar
coated it for me.
(13:07):
But sometimes it's necessaryfor you to go, man, I shouldn't drink
so many sodas.
Maybe I should cut back to,you know, one a month instead of
one a day.
That's a good message to get.
And so that way you can do better.
And so that way I don't haveany more kidney stones, so I can
(13:27):
do better and, you know, notgo through that pain, not go through
that.
You know, your body isrejecting this.
Your body is not functioningcorrectly, so it's adapting and doing
something that it doesn'tnormally do.
Sometimes you need to adaptand do things you don't normally
do.
Sometimes this criticism willlead you to do new things, better
(13:51):
things, or lead you downdifferent paths.
So don't necessarily be, youknow, afraid of that criticism, that
rejection.
Embrace it, analyze it, andfind out if it's constructive, if
it's coming at you from aplace of love.
Somebody wants you to bebetter than what you're doing.
(14:12):
Fantastic.
Recently with a former studentof mine, I've been shooting him some
music that I've been creatingand he's been giving me his ideas
on it.
Like some of it, hate some of it.
And that's okay.
I. I just.
It just makes it better, youknow, that I used to do an old style
that was very house music,trance, you know, very 90s and early
(14:37):
2000s feeling and sounding.
He likes that stuff.
So I know if I make somethingthat is in that vein and pass it
on to him, he's going to enjoy it.
But some of the stuff thatI've been doing lately is very extra
abstract.
Not a huge fan of it becausehe can't relate to it as well.
(14:58):
Likes the sound of it, butjust can't really pull the story
out of it.
So that tells me that I needto work more on my storytelling aspect
with abstract art so that waymore people can understand it.
If that's what I'm going forright now, I'm, you know, enjoying
a new instrument that I'musing and a new digital audio workstation
(15:23):
that is helping me mold this stuff.
So it's at its very early stage.
And is it going to.
Is it going to produce ugly babies?
Absolutely.
And it's going to produce somemoments of genius.
We're going for more of thosemoments of genius and connection
and, you know, figuring things out.
(15:43):
So analyze the rejection,analyze to critique and make sure
that it is constructive versus destructive.
Don't let it be destructive.
Don't let it stop you.
Let it fire you up.
And make that piece of.
Make that next project even better.
(16:11):
All right, so let's look atthe criticism and rejection as, you
know, a just a rep in the gym.
So you're lifting weights, andit's just helping you get stronger.
It's a stress test, basically,on your creative kidneys.
(16:33):
So think of your kidneys asthe source of your creation.
Please don't.
Oh, my God.
No.
Your kidneys help, you know,filter out impurities.
Maybe that's what your art does.
Maybe your art, you know,filters out the impurities and gives
us a picture of what the worldreally is.
But here's the thing.
The more you face it and theless fear you have of it, the better
(16:58):
it's going to be.
This whole episode is based onme passing a kidney stone.
That's funny.
That's.
For me, that's hilarious.
And I have to laugh when Ihave a kidney stone because, yes,
it can hurt a lot in placesyou really don't want it to hurt.
(17:21):
But we gotta come at this with humor.
We gotta come at this with,this is only gonna make me better.
So bring it on.
Definitely bring it on.
Let me know what you thinkabout this piece.
And, you know, sometimesyou're going to need to set up the
(17:41):
criticism as, okay, I reallywant feedback on this part of it.
The rest of it I got.
But this part seems weak to me.
And then, you know, if you'relooking for criticism like that,
then you need to be specificon what you want, and then realize
it's going to help you in thatarea that you want it in.
(18:04):
And then you're going toreject everything else and have some
humor with it, because let metell you, kidney stones are not fun.
Getting rejection is not fun.
Having people tell you, yeah,no, not so much.
Not going to pay for this.
Not ideal.
It hurts.
It stings.
But then you look at it andgo, okay, I got through that.
(18:27):
You know, I didn't lose an armor a leg.
Maybe I lost a kidney stone.
Yay.
And then you move on and youdo better the next time.
And then you get morecriticism and you do better than
next time until you get to apoint where you're like, nobody criticizes
you anymore because it'salways perfect.
That point never happens.
(18:48):
It doesn't happen.
I'm sorry.
But you know what?
It would be nice if it did so,you know, have some resilience with
it, have some humor with itand you know, a little, you know,
this is going to, you know,make my work in the future perfect.
Delude yourself a little bit.
Very little bit, though.
Okay?
(19:08):
Not a whole lot, but a verylittle bit.
If that gets you through thenight, great, then do it that way.
But have fun with it.
Let it build you up.
All right.
I want to thank you for takinga listen here today.
(19:31):
I thank you.
My kidney stone thanks you.
We named him Big John becausehe was so big.
10 millimeters big boy.
He's gaining weight.
But seriously, folks, withcriticism and rejection, we've all
faced it.
We're all going to face it.
I'm probably going to facesome criticism for this episode because
(19:52):
I'm talking about my kidneystones, so dang much.
But the fact of the matter is,is this, you want to realize it's
going to happen.
Somebody's going to call yourbaby ugly.
Prep yourself for that.
Learn from it.
Analyze where that criticismand that rejection is coming from.
(20:14):
So that way the stuff that,the projects that you make in the
future are going to benefitfrom those lessons learned and then
realize that this is onlygoing to, this criticism, this rejection
is only going to make youbetter and have some humor with it.
So if you got something out ofit, let me know.
(20:35):
Shoot your criticism my way.
Timothy.
Create art podcast.com.
i'd love to hear what youthink about the show.
If you would like differenttopics on the show or if you'd like
to appear on the show, email me.
Pop on over and let's havethat conversation.
Let's start it up now.
(20:56):
If you got something out ofthe show, feel free to share it with
a friend.
Whatever podcast app orYouTube channel that you're watching
this on, there's usually ashare button there.
So feel free to share thiswith friends.
I'm not going to give you akidney stone for doing it yet.
Okay.
But definitely share it withyour friends and share it with somebody
(21:17):
that needs to to hear this.
Speaking about sharing thingswith friends, I run another podcast
called Find a Podcast aboutand that's where I help you find
your next binge worthy podcastand outsmart the algorithm.
Find it at Find a Podcastabout dot x, y z and let me help
(21:37):
you find your next bingeworthy podcast.
Something else I've started.
Something else I have startedthis year is my own business.
It's called TKB Podcast Studioand you can go to tkbpodcaststudio.com
and that's where I have myportfolio of all the shows that I'm
(21:58):
working on.
And basically, I'm here tohelp lead you through the noise with
quiet professionalism and getyour podcast out there, whether it
be production or.
Or consulting.
Maybe you know how to do allthe podcast stuff, but you need somebody
to tap you on the shoulderwith good criticism and get you to
(22:21):
that next level.
Pop on my website, email meover there, and let's see what we
can do together.
All right, that's all I havefor you today.
Thank you so very much forjoining me here today.
Going to show you a picture ofmy kidney stone at this moment.
I know a lot of you have beenwaiting for it, so here is my kidney
(22:44):
stone.
All right, that second or twoof silence that you just heard.
For those of you on theYouTube channel, you just get to
see my kidney stone.
For those of you listening, goto the show notes.
I've got a picture of mykidney stone right there for you.
(23:04):
So enjoy, enjoy.
And was that painful, youknow, passing?
Yeah.
Not as bad as some others thatI've had, but yeah, I could feel
it coming out the whole way.
So if that's the thing thatyou need for criticism, rejection,
if that's the picture that youneed for it, I'm happy to.
(23:26):
I'm doing what I can for youto get my point across.
So go out there, tame thatinner critic.
Create more than you consume.
Drink more water.
It helps with the kidney stones.
And go out there and makesmart for somebody you love, yourself.
(23:49):
I'll talk to you next time.
It.
So something I have recentlydealt with is I recently passed a
kidney stone.
I know, not fun for me.
It definitely wasn't fun.
But you know what?
It got me thinking.
Criticism and rejection in artfeel a lot like passing a kidney
stone.
You know, it's sharp, it'spainful, can't ignore it.
(00:26):
But just like a kidney stone,this too shall pass.
And you're usually stronger afterward.
(00:58):
Welcome to Create Art Podcast.
I'm your host, Timothy Kim O',Brien, and I use my 30 years of experience
in the arts and educationworld to help you tame your inner
critic and create more thanyou consume.
So in 2025, I started up a newseries called the New Artist Compass.
(01:21):
And I'll be tackling a numberof topics and sometimes we'll have
conversations with different artists.
Other times it'll be like thisepisode where it'll be a one on one
with me and you.
And yeah, I.
This one is very timelybecause I've had kidney stones in
(01:44):
the past and they're not fun.
And criticism and rejectionreally feel like passing a kidney
stone.
So we'll be talking aboutkidney stones, rejection and criticism,
and a lot of the similaritiesbetween the two.
(02:04):
But here's the thing.
I'm back here with you.
The kidney stone didn't stopme, and criticism and rejection shouldn't
stop you.
As a matter of fact, there'ssome good things about that, and
that's what we're going totalk about on this episode.
(02:29):
So if you've never had akidney stone, talk to somebody that
has.
So far, I've had a grand totalof, oh, I don't know, three, six,
maybe seven kidney stones.
And I actually just recentlypassed one, and I have another one
that I have to take care of.
(02:51):
And, you know, criticism canfeel a lot like that kidney stone.
It's painful, it's sudden, itcan be disruptive sometimes, you
know, that kind of pain anddisruption, that can be rejection.
And criticism can feel a lotlike rejection because it's, you
(03:15):
know, we, we talk aboutbringing things into the world.
And I know for me, with myart, I'm always, you know, kind of
commenting on what I'm seeingand then saying to my audience, let's
compare this, let's compare notes.
And when I hear crickets orwhen I get critiqued by it, sometimes
(03:42):
that can be really painful.
And with criticism andrejection, there's ways to do it.
You know, one of the ways Ilearned in the military and in, in
the art world is to treat itlike a sandwich.
(04:03):
You put bread on Both ends.
You put the in the middle.
So good, bad, good.
And then you're done and get out.
That's a good way to give criticism.
But what if you're on thereceiving end of it?
You know, realizing somebody'scalling your baby ugly.
(04:24):
That's a lot to take.
That's a lot to take.
And you're going to get thatin life and with your audience.
And it's unavoidable becauseyou're alive and you're a human being,
and you can't really stop itfrom happening because people are
going to have opinions aboutyour work, and that's okay.
(04:46):
Let's turn that on its head.
Let's turn that fear of painon its head and go, you know what?
They disliked it so much thatthey made a comment about it.
I'm not hearing crickets.
That's not bad.
They were impacted by it somuch that they decided to comment
(05:11):
on it.
And if we look at that commentas, you know what, this person is
being generous and they'retrying to help me grow, what's wrong
with that?
So realize it's going to be painful.
Somebody's going to call yourbaby ugly.
You're a human being.
It's unavoidable, and that's okay.
(05:41):
So now that we know that it'sgoing to happen, we've prepped ourselves
for it.
We've, you know, we've put onour armor.
We've got our thick skin on.
We know what's going to happen.
Somebody's going to saysomething about our work.
They're either going to, youknow, really love it, or they're
going to tear it apart and saywhy it's wrong and.
(06:01):
And this and that.
The other thing.
So we're prepared.
And now what we need to do isrealize it's not personal.
You're going to separateyourself from the work.
They may be calling your babyugly, but they're not calling you
ugly.
Okay?
It's like a kidney stone.
(06:23):
It.
You're.
You have the kidney stone.
You created the kidney stone.
But the kidney stone does notdefine who you are.
It's not you.
It's.
Your body has created this andyou're passing it and it's out of
your system.
And, yeah, it looks like thatthere's a reason why it's called
a kidney stone.
It looks like a stone.
(06:43):
It looks like gravel.
And, well, depending on howbig it is.
The one I recently passed was10 millimeters.
I have a 11 millimeter one and10 millimeters doesn't seem like
a lot.
But I got two calls from thenursing staff at my urologist going,
are you okay?
And they were like, that's huge.
(07:06):
You're in pain, you're good.
And yes, I am good.
You know, it happened and all that.
It is out of me.
It looks ugly.
I might even include a pictureof the kidney stone at the end of
this episode.
So if you're watching it onYouTube, stay tuned, you too can
see my kidney stone.
(07:28):
And if you're listening juston a regular podcast app, I'll have
it in the show notes there for you.
But it's a rejection of the peace.
It is not a rejection of you.
So separate yourself from that.
Yes, it came from you, but itis not you.
That's the main idea I'mtrying to get across to you here.
(07:51):
It is something that youbrought into the world, but it is
not you because somebody elsebrought you into the world, namely
your mother.
So just remember that it's notyou that they're rejecting, it's
not you that they'recriticizing, it's the piece.
And when we have that distancefrom it, it kind of softens the blow.
(08:16):
So whatever they're sayingabout the piece, that's fine.
They can say whatever theywant to about the piece.
Maybe they don't understandit, maybe they got the wrong idea
of it.
So that's where you got tocritique the critique or, you know,
really examine the rejectionof the piece.
Was it a simple thing thatthey didn't understand it?
(08:38):
Was it a simple thing thatthey got the wrong impression of
it?
And if that's the case, thenthat's going to be ammunition for
you for your next piece tomake it, if you want more relatable,
more understandable.
So that way, that kind ofrejection, that kind of critique,
(09:00):
it doesn't happen again.
So I hinted at this in theprevious section.
We want to analyze thecriticism and the rejection.
You know, with kidney stones,they always want you to bring them
(09:22):
in.
They've always wanted me tobring them in after I've passed them
to analyze to see what, whatcaused that stone to happen, what's
it made of, what can we do,diet wise or medical, with medicines
that can help prevent those stones?
Same thing with criticism isyou need to analyze the criticism
(09:45):
and the rejection and some ofthe critiques, some of the criticism,
some of the rejection that youget maybe from people that are not
your target audience.
So that, that's, you reallyneed to know who that target audience
is.
Who is this work for?
(10:05):
Maybe it's not for the personthat received it and critiqued it
or rejected it.
Maybe it's for somebody elseand it's okay if it's not for everybody.
You know, this kidney stoneepisode dealing with rejection is
not going to be for everybody.
There's going to be somepeople that have had kidney stones
that go, oh, God, I don't everwant to remember that again.
(10:30):
But I think it's importantthat we take a look at the criticism
and the rejection and reallyanalyze where it's coming from.
Is it coming from a placewhere they want to help us, or is
it coming from keyboardcowboys that hate everything?
Back in the day, when I wasreally into punk rock music, there
(10:55):
was people in the scene that,you know, said, oh, these guys have
sold out and, you know, we'renot going to listen to them again.
And they're, you know, they'retrash, they're junk.
And with bands evolving asartists and evolving their sound
and, yeah, maybe some of themdid sell out because, you know, being
(11:15):
a punk, being in a punk rockband is not going to necessarily
lead to fame, fortune, and aneasier life.
Some of that criticism, youjust need to let it go because it's
not for those people.
Some of that criticism youreally need to take to heart.
Is it coming from the peoplethat are your true fans, that are
(11:38):
your true followers, or is itcoming from somebody that is just
going to poo poo anything?
I mean, they'll look atMichelangelo's David and go, yeah,
well, you know, should haveput a cod piece on there.
Or, you know, it doesn't lookrealistic enough to me.
Well, then they should get upthere and try it, quite frankly.
(11:59):
So, you know, sometimes when Iget criticism of my pieces or I hear
crickets, which, you know,sometimes is rejection, sometimes
that silence that you hearcould be people are really thinking
about it too.
Think about that.
You know, if you get.
If you're getting silence,maybe you have struck a chord with
somebody that has reallyreached them down deep in their core
(12:22):
and they need to process it.
So getting silence backsometimes not necessarily a bad thing.
If it's, you know, causingpeople to think sometimes it is a
bad thing.
And then you go, wow, thiswasn't for them and that's okay.
Or my message wasn't clearenough, so I need to work on, you
(12:47):
know, what message I'm tryingto send out.
So all these things are goingto help you.
So with the kidney stone,you're getting rid of stuff out of
your body that doesn't need tobe in There, Yeah, it hurts, it's
painful.
Sometimes there's bloodinvolved with it.
Not going to sugarcoat it atall for you because nobody sugar
coated it for me.
(13:07):
But sometimes it's necessaryfor you to go, man, I shouldn't drink
so many sodas.
Maybe I should cut back to,you know, one a month instead of
one a day.
That's a good message to get.
And so that way you can do better.
And so that way I don't haveany more kidney stones, so I can
(13:27):
do better and, you know, notgo through that pain, not go through
that.
You know, your body isrejecting this.
Your body is not functioningcorrectly, so it's adapting and doing
something that it doesn'tnormally do.
Sometimes you need to adaptand do things you don't normally
do.
Sometimes this criticism willlead you to do new things, better
(13:51):
things, or lead you downdifferent paths.
So don't necessarily be, youknow, afraid of that criticism, that
rejection.
Embrace it, analyze it, andfind out if it's constructive, if
it's coming at you from aplace of love.
Somebody wants you to bebetter than what you're doing.
(14:12):
Fantastic.
Recently with a former studentof mine, I've been shooting him some
music that I've been creatingand he's been giving me his ideas
on it.
Like some of it, hate some of it.
And that's okay.
I. I just.
It just makes it better, youknow, that I used to do an old style
that was very house music,trance, you know, very 90s and early
(14:37):
2000s feeling and sounding.
He likes that stuff.
So I know if I make somethingthat is in that vein and pass it
on to him, he's going to enjoy it.
But some of the stuff thatI've been doing lately is very extra
abstract.
Not a huge fan of it becausehe can't relate to it as well.
(14:58):
Likes the sound of it, butjust can't really pull the story
out of it.
So that tells me that I needto work more on my storytelling aspect
with abstract art so that waymore people can understand it.
If that's what I'm going forright now, I'm, you know, enjoying
a new instrument that I'musing and a new digital audio workstation
(15:23):
that is helping me mold this stuff.
So it's at its very early stage.
And is it going to.
Is it going to produce ugly babies?
Absolutely.
And it's going to produce somemoments of genius.
We're going for more of thosemoments of genius and connection
and, you know, figuring things out.
(15:43):
So analyze the rejection,analyze to critique and make sure
that it is constructive versus destructive.
Don't let it be destructive.
Don't let it stop you.
Let it fire you up.
And make that piece of.
Make that next project even better.
(16:11):
All right, so let's look atthe criticism and rejection as, you
know, a just a rep in the gym.
So you're lifting weights, andit's just helping you get stronger.
It's a stress test, basically,on your creative kidneys.
(16:33):
So think of your kidneys asthe source of your creation.
Please don't.
Oh, my God.
No.
Your kidneys help, you know,filter out impurities.
Maybe that's what your art does.
Maybe your art, you know,filters out the impurities and gives
us a picture of what the worldreally is.
But here's the thing.
The more you face it and theless fear you have of it, the better
(16:58):
it's going to be.
This whole episode is based onme passing a kidney stone.
That's funny.
That's.
For me, that's hilarious.
And I have to laugh when Ihave a kidney stone because, yes,
it can hurt a lot in placesyou really don't want it to hurt.
(17:21):
But we gotta come at this with humor.
We gotta come at this with,this is only gonna make me better.
So bring it on.
Definitely bring it on.
Let me know what you thinkabout this piece.
And, you know, sometimesyou're going to need to set up the
(17:41):
criticism as, okay, I reallywant feedback on this part of it.
The rest of it I got.
But this part seems weak to me.
And then, you know, if you'relooking for criticism like that,
then you need to be specificon what you want, and then realize
it's going to help you in thatarea that you want it in.
(18:04):
And then you're going toreject everything else and have some
humor with it, because let metell you, kidney stones are not fun.
Getting rejection is not fun.
Having people tell you, yeah,no, not so much.
Not going to pay for this.
Not ideal.
It hurts.
It stings.
But then you look at it andgo, okay, I got through that.
(18:27):
You know, I didn't lose an armor a leg.
Maybe I lost a kidney stone.
Yay.
And then you move on and youdo better the next time.
And then you get morecriticism and you do better than
next time until you get to apoint where you're like, nobody criticizes
you anymore because it'salways perfect.
That point never happens.
(18:48):
It doesn't happen.
I'm sorry.
But you know what?
It would be nice if it did so,you know, have some resilience with
it, have some humor with itand you know, a little, you know,
this is going to, you know,make my work in the future perfect.
Delude yourself a little bit.
Very little bit, though.
Okay?
(19:08):
Not a whole lot, but a verylittle bit.
If that gets you through thenight, great, then do it that way.
But have fun with it.
Let it build you up.
All right.
I want to thank you for takinga listen here today.
(19:31):
I thank you.
My kidney stone thanks you.
We named him Big John becausehe was so big.
10 millimeters big boy.
He's gaining weight.
But seriously, folks, withcriticism and rejection, we've all
faced it.
We're all going to face it.
I'm probably going to facesome criticism for this episode because
(19:52):
I'm talking about my kidneystones, so dang much.
But the fact of the matter is,is this, you want to realize it's
going to happen.
Somebody's going to call yourbaby ugly.
Prep yourself for that.
Learn from it.
Analyze where that criticismand that rejection is coming from.
(20:14):
So that way the stuff that,the projects that you make in the
future are going to benefitfrom those lessons learned and then
realize that this is onlygoing to, this criticism, this rejection
is only going to make youbetter and have some humor with it.
So if you got something out ofit, let me know.
(20:35):
Shoot your criticism my way.
Timothy.
Create art podcast.com.
i'd love to hear what youthink about the show.
If you would like differenttopics on the show or if you'd like
to appear on the show, email me.
Pop on over and let's havethat conversation.
Let's start it up now.
(20:56):
If you got something out ofthe show, feel free to share it with
a friend.
Whatever podcast app orYouTube channel that you're watching
this on, there's usually ashare button there.
So feel free to share thiswith friends.
I'm not going to give you akidney stone for doing it yet.
Okay.
But definitely share it withyour friends and share it with somebody
(21:17):
that needs to to hear this.
Speaking about sharing thingswith friends, I run another podcast
called Find a Podcast aboutand that's where I help you find
your next binge worthy podcastand outsmart the algorithm.
Find it at Find a Podcastabout dot x, y z and let me help
(21:37):
you find your next bingeworthy podcast.
Something else I've started.
Something else I have startedthis year is my own business.
It's called TKB Podcast Studioand you can go to tkbpodcaststudio.com
and that's where I have myportfolio of all the shows that I'm
(21:58):
working on.
And basically, I'm here tohelp lead you through the noise with
quiet professionalism and getyour podcast out there, whether it
be production or.
Or consulting.
Maybe you know how to do allthe podcast stuff, but you need somebody
to tap you on the shoulderwith good criticism and get you to
(22:21):
that next level.
Pop on my website, email meover there, and let's see what we
can do together.
All right, that's all I havefor you today.
Thank you so very much forjoining me here today.
Going to show you a picture ofmy kidney stone at this moment.
I know a lot of you have beenwaiting for it, so here is my kidney
(22:44):
stone.
All right, that second or twoof silence that you just heard.
For those of you on theYouTube channel, you just get to
see my kidney stone.
For those of you listening, goto the show notes.
I've got a picture of mykidney stone right there for you.
(23:04):
So enjoy, enjoy.
And was that painful, youknow, passing?
Yeah.
Not as bad as some others thatI've had, but yeah, I could feel
it coming out the whole way.
So if that's the thing thatyou need for criticism, rejection,
if that's the picture that youneed for it, I'm happy to.
(23:26):
I'm doing what I can for youto get my point across.
So go out there, tame thatinner critic.
Create more than you consume.
Drink more water.
It helps with the kidney stones.
And go out there and makesmart for somebody you love, yourself.
(23:49):
I'll talk to you next time.
It.
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