You Can’t Create and Care What People Think

There’s a point in every creative’s life where you have to choose: do you want to be liked, or do you want to be true to yourself?

I’ve spent years building businesses, investing, working hard—and I’ve reached a point where I can finally focus on creating something that’s truly mine. As a Swede, you’re raised to be modest. And I am. But mindset has always mattered more to me than money ever did.

I have this odd quirk: I still think of myself as someone with limited means. Not because I am—but because I constantly compare myself to the very top. When I look at someone like Elon or Bezos, it warps my frame of reference. Logically, I know I have enough. I don’t need to sell prints or wildlife films. But I want to. Not for income—but for connection. There’s something deeply satisfying in knowing that someone out there really sees your work. That it resonates.

If you’re going to make something original—really original—you have to stop caring what anyone thinks. That includes strangers online, your old mentors, the algorithm, the market, and yes, even your peers. Their applause—especially on Instagram, where their only hope might be that you’ll like one of their posts—doesn’t make your work good. Their silence doesn’t make it bad.

As a photographer and filmmaker, I’ve learned this the hard way. You spend months in the field, chasing a single shot, pouring your soul into a film sequence. And then someone scrolls past it in half a second—or worse, tells you it’s “nice” with the enthusiasm of a bad handshake.

At first, it stings. Then you grow. You stop creating for the applause. You create for the truth. Your truth. That’s where the real freedom is. Don’t give a f*ck.

Your Taste Is Your Compass

The thing is, you know what good looks like. You have taste. You know when a moment hits. When the light is just right. When the composition feels like something more. That’s what you have to chase. Not likes. Not trends.

Trust Your Instinct

Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s correct. That includes feedback, opinions, and so-called expert advice. Trust your instinct. As an entrepreneur, I’ve sat in on too many meetings where someone next to me at the conference table says X or Y like it’s gospel. But they’re just paid employees. They don’t carry the weight. They haven’t bet their life on the outcome. They chose the life of comfort, clocking in and out, collecting a paycheck. You’re the entrepreneur. The artist. The one with skin in the game. Your instinct isn’t just valid—it’s essential. Learn to listen to it above all.

Earned Freedom

Let me be real: having financial freedom helps. It’s a hell of a lot easier to create what you love when you’re not worried about next month’s bills. I’ve worked for that. And I respect it.

But that’s not the point. The real currency is creative courage. The willingness to say: “This is mine. It matters. And I don’t care if you get it.”

It’s not ego. It’s not arrogance. It’s necessity.

Because the moment you start watering down your vision to make it palatable to everyone, you’ve already lost the very thing that made it worth creating. And yes—I’m not perfect. I’ve liked dull posts on Instagram just to be polite or to get a like back. Guilty as charged. We’re not perfect creatures.

The Only Opinion That Counts

I’ve come to a place where I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks of my work—as long as I believe in it. That’s the only standard I measure by now.

And it’s incredibly liberating.

Create your work. Say what you need to say. Show up fully. And if someone doesn’t like it? Good, most people have bad taste. You’re doing something right.