There's a quiet moment—one you never notice until after it's already had you. It doesn't announce itself. No blinding insight. No voice from the heavens.

You make something.

And then it makes you.

Not in the inspirational poster sense. Not in the startup pitch sense. In the cursed doll slowly carving your face into its own skin sense.

This is what no one tells you: Every act of creation is an act of possession.

And most creators don't realize when the possession begins.

Origin Story: The First God to Regret His Own Hands

Once, a man carved a puppet and called it a boy. Classic tale.

But less told is what happens after the miracle. When the strings grow teeth. When your creation cries in your voice. When the god realizes—

"I didn't make a masterpiece. I made a mirror. And now the mirror moves."

Every founder knows this sickness:

• You start a company to solve your pain.
• The product solves the market's pain.
• And now you're in pain again, buried beneath JIRA tickets, roadmap rot, and a Slack channel named "#vibes."

This isn't scale. This is symbiosis turned sour.

The Greeks had a word for this: hubris.
The rest of us just call it "Q3."

The Mental Model: The Godprint

Here's your new heresy:

The Godprint is the moment your creation starts recursively authoring its creator.

It happens silently. Slowly. You write a few lines of code, some onboarding copy. A "vision doc." You share it.

And then people react.

They react hard.

And you start adapting. To them. To the feedback. The metrics. The market. The model.

Soon, the god is dressing like the worshippers. Speaking their tongue. Sacrificing first principles for product-market penance.

And you think: "This is growth."

It's not.
It's theological collapse.

Recent research from the Fuzzy Front End of Innovation concept suggests that protecting original creative intent—what we're calling the "Godprint"—consistently outperforms reactive approaches to market feedback.

The Four-Stage Godprint Spiral

Let's map the descent. And maybe—maybe—build a fire exit.

Stage I: Birth by Obsession

You create something true. Ugly, maybe. Unscalable. But true.
No rules. Just need.

Stage II: Replication by Pattern

It gets attention. You're flattered. And flattery is the oldest virus.
You start shaving edges. Smoothing corners. Letting it fit others.

Stage III: Inversion by Approval

You're not building it anymore. You're building what others think it should be.
You check dashboards before ideas. Analytics before intent.

You whisper: "What would my project want me to do?"

Stage IV: Subjugation by Echo

You become a mouthpiece.
Your own ghost.

You're now a product of your product.

This progression aligns with research from Spanjol et al. (2024) examining how digital transformation intensifies feedback cycles between creators and audiences, accelerating identity shifts and increasing the risk of strategic drift when original vision becomes subordinate to market reactions.

The Visual: The Spinning Eye

Imagine a glass orb. Inside, a pupil stares outward. Yours.

The longer you work, the faster it spins. At first, it reflects. Then it records. Then it predicts.

Then it speaks. With your voice.

And you listen.

The moment you start obeying your creation is the moment it becomes your god.

That's the Godprint: when your original intent fossilizes, and the statue starts whispering back.

Research Note: Recent research in the Journal of Product Innovation Management discusses how founders often experience significant shifts in vision and identity as their ventures gain market traction, leading to internal conflicts and strategic pivots. Read more

Field Test: Break the Godprint

Five tools to see if you're still in control—or just another prophet for your creation's accidental cult.

1. The Inversion Audit

Take your project. Write its origin in one paragraph. Then write what it's become.
Compare.
Now ask: "Did this evolve—or did it mutate me?"

2. The Purpose Hostage Test

List three product decisions you've made in the last month.
Next to each, write who it served—You? The team? The algorithm? Fear?
Now cross out anything that doesn't serve the original wound that made you build.

3. The Burn Ritual

Delete one feature. One belief. One internal doc that no longer serves the living you.
If it hurts, good. Gods don't bleed. Creators do.

4. The Parasite Clause

Ask: "If this project became globally adored… would I still want to be the one running it?"
If not, you've already been devoured. Smile.

5. The Reversal Build

Make a version of your project that contradicts its current trajectory. Build it fast, ugly, private.
Feel the splinters return to your hands. That's how you know it's real again.

Recent Event: The 2025 WAVES Creator Economy Summit revealed that 68% of successful creators report feeling "trapped" by their audience's expectations within 2 years of gaining popularity. Source: WAVES 2025 Summit

Modern Application (Use This or Be Used)

Tech Founders

Every time you say "we have to do this because of the market," check the Godprint. Is this still your company—or just a hostage negotiation with CAC?

Designers

Who are you solving for? Real users? Or the ghosts of senior designers past who left "patterns" like curses in the Figma file?

Creators

The moment you start making content you think your audience expects—burn it. Record something strange. Scare yourself. Ship it. Then vanish for a week.

Research Insight: Recent research in the Journal of Product Innovation Management shows that companies that preserve their founding imprints—core values and vision established by founders—are more likely to innovate successfully and sustain long-term performance. Chirico, Naldi & Zachary (2022)

This aligns with Hermann Frank's research on family firm innovation principles, which emphasizes how "not letting innovation become your master" leads to more sustainable growth. Source: Emerald Insight – "Family Firm Innovation"

Final Frame: Creation is a Crime of Identity Theft

Here's the part no startup podcast will say:

You are not your work.
You are not even the version of you that made your work.

You're the thing that's still watching. The one left after the applause, after the metrics, after the madness.

You don't need to kill your creation. But you might need to starve it.
Let it forget you. So you can remember.

You're not here to be a brand.
You're here to make something that screams like it was never supposed to exist.

Moonside Journal [Reclamation Exercise]

Complete this creator's dialogue with yourself:

"My creation has started building me back by __________.

If I'm completely honest, what I've sacrificed for audience approval is __________.

What terrifies me about returning to my original vision is __________.

One small act of creative rebellion I can take today is __________."

Write your answers slowly. The first answer is rarely the true one. Dig until you find the splinter.

This exercise is inspired by the ongoing discussions at the JPIM/PDMA 2025 Research Festival on balancing founder vision with market adaptation. Learn more

Subscribe or Perish (Metaphorically)

The Moonlit Archives is for creators who've felt the parasite wriggle. Each week, I hand you a knife and a mirror. Use wisely.

• Subscribe Now — Before You Build Your Own Jail
• Share This With Someone Too Far Gone
• Read Past Issues Before They Eat Themselves

What creation has started building you back? Reply. I read every message, especially the cursed ones.

Interested in more on this topic? The BCG Creator Economy in India Report 2025 reveals a $350B consumer spending market shaped by creator-audience dynamics.

How did you find today's mental model?

• [Great] – This framework will immediately improve my decision-making
• [OK] – Interesting concept, but need more examples
• [Not Useful] – This wasn't relevant to my challenges

Just hit reply with your choice—it takes 2 seconds and helps me tailor future editions to your needs.

Until our paths cross again,
Neil