As a freelance writer, composer, and musician, I don't have to "believe my own press," which is to say that neither commercial success (number of units sold), number of social media followers, nor endorsements or press coverage dictate any indication of success commensurate to the level of validation needed to continue on with my work. Those things do not and cannot validate or effectively reject my work, and the following are the reasons why. 1. If the point of a venture or project is communicating to the public higher values and principles such as freedom of speech, then popularity and/or monetary success of the spokesperson or title is hardly the concern. 2. Documented popularity is not always equal to quality, prestige, or even success. 3. I may define "success" however I want to. 4. Sales (commerical success) is/are not equal to quality, prestige, or success necessarily (or the effectiveness of an outreach). 5. To the extent that people don't re