You just keep moving forward and doing what you do and hope that

“You just keep moving forward and doing what you do and hope that it resonates with people. And if it doesn't, you just keep moving on until you find a project that does.” These words, spoken by the wise Octavia Spencer, are not merely advice—they are a testament to the ancient spirit of perseverance that has guided humankind through the tempests of time. Her message speaks of movement, faith, and endurance, virtues revered by the ancients and sung in the songs of heroes. To keep moving forward is not merely to walk—it is to carry the flame of one’s purpose through darkness, trusting that its light will find its reflection in the hearts of others.

In this saying, Spencer reminds us that the path of creation and purpose is not one of applause, but of devotion. To “do what you do” is to honor one’s calling, even when unseen, even when the echoes of your work fade into silence. For the true artist, the true builder of worlds, must labor not for praise but for truth. The ancients knew this well. They built temples that stood against the sands, carved wisdom into stone, and wrote their words upon clay—never knowing if generations to come would understand. Yet they worked on, for they knew that resonance—that sacred harmony between soul and world—comes only when the work is born from faith, not approval.

Consider the tale of Leonardo da Vinci, who toiled upon his inventions, his notebooks filled with visions that few in his time could grasp. Many of his projects were abandoned, misunderstood, or left unfinished. Yet he kept moving forward, his hands never still, his mind forever alive. It was not in one masterpiece but in the tapestry of his relentless seeking that his genius found immortality. He was not defined by what the world embraced, but by what he dared to continue creating when the world turned away. In this persistence lies the echo of Spencer’s wisdom—when one project fails to find its audience, another shall rise, born of the same unwavering spirit.

There is a quiet heroism in this teaching. It asks of us patience in rejection, courage in silence, and steadfastness in the face of indifference. The world does not always meet effort with reward. Sometimes the seeds of your labor fall upon barren soil. Yet, as the farmer does not curse the earth for a poor season, so too must we not abandon our work for lack of harvest. The call is to move on, not with bitterness, but with renewed purpose—to trust that the right soil will one day receive our seed.

In the days of old, warriors spoke of honor in the struggle, not in victory alone. A soldier who returned defeated but unbroken was celebrated, for he had stood his ground against despair. The same truth lives in Spencer’s words. She speaks not of fleeting success, but of the eternal journey—the march forward through failure, the forging of resilience in the fires of disappointment. It is the path of those who seek mastery, for mastery is not found in triumph, but in the refusal to surrender.

Let each soul, then, take this teaching as both shield and guide: Do not halt when unseen, nor waver when unpraised. Continue your craft, your service, your creation, until the world catches up to the fire that already burns within you. For the river does not ask the stone to move; it simply flows around it, finding its way to the sea. So too must you continue, carving your passage through time, shaping destiny by persistence.

The lesson, then, is clear: The measure of one’s worth is not in how many hearts your work touches, but in how steadfastly you remain true to your vision. Let no rejection still your hand, no silence dim your voice. Instead, take each closed door as a turn in the labyrinth that leads toward your true purpose. Move forward. Create again. Begin anew.

And if you seek a practical way to live this truth, do this: each morning, commit your heart to one honest act of creation—be it a line written, a kindness given, a step taken toward a dream. Let that act be your offering to the unseen future. For when you move forward in faith, even the smallest effort becomes part of something eternal.