Don’t Buy Into Anything That You Wouldn’t Be Willing to Dedicate a Long Period Of Time

10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on figuring it out, simplicity, long term wealth, betting on your self and rethinking the entire business world

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• The Rundown 4: Don’t Be Afraid to Be the Exception… Life is About Being an Anomaly, Not Fitting In

• The Rundown 5: It's Going to Feel Ridiculous Until it Feels Miraculous... Do it Anyway

• The Rundown 6: What’s Calling You Knows More Than What’s Keeping You Comfortable

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Hey Everyone,

The Rundown — Here’s what I found over the course of this week that has helped me, inspired me or gave me some creative pushes…

1. On obsessing over your interests — “Obsession is going to beat talent every time. You’ve got all the talent in the world, but are you obsessed? Is it all you ever think about? It’s You against You out there. When you walk on that court, you have to think ‘I am the best out there.’ So let me ask you again, ‘Do you love this game?” (— Adam Sandler as Stanley Sugerman - Hustle)

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   I don’t want people to think of “obsession” in the unhealthy sense that it removes all other aspects of life… I want people to think of it as deepening their relationship with the seeds that were planted in them for a very specific reason… one of which is tied to part of their purpose for being here. Be “obsessed” with your potential, your progress and your purpose.

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2. On discipline and follow through — “Creatives are the new athletes.” — You might have seen the photo below circulating the Internet.

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   My take— creativity is not just about birthing a new idea when the inspiration strikes. It’s about discipline, follow through, consistency, optimization and progress. And, for many who are trying to make a living out of our creativity, it’s managing it like a business out of integrity, values and principles… all while keeping close to our soul and unique, individual purpose. Yeah, creativity is not just creativity… it’s walking in/on purpose.

   

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3. On “figuring it out” — “One day I’m gonna figure it out… and let’s be honest, it’s fun.” (—Virgil Abloh) — People may tell you a lot of things that go against what you’re feeling most called to… I always urge people to rethink that strategy because our conversation with God is more important than what society thinks is “safe” or the “right” thing… Most people are afraid to bet on themselves, and while I understand this, it’s not my job (or yours) to play small. We’re here for something far greater than we can imagine and it’s our job to show up for that every second we’re alive.

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4. On making a name for yourself. — Communicate simplicity — “The goal is to communicate your mission in the simplest way possible so the people you serve not only understand you, but you become hard to ever forget… in fact, your words will be with them forever.” (—

   Matt Gottesman
   ) — I was reading an interesting essay by Jack Butcher, creator of Visualize Value, and he said the following…

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   “If you nail the language that represents your idea, and deliver on the promise that it makes, the validity and memorability of it gradually increases… Our ideas introduce themselves to the world using their name, just like we do, so not spending time and energy finding a good one is a huge waste of the time you're spending on everything else… Why do names matter so much? It is my hypothesis that the quality of a name reflects a deep understanding of the thing being named. A great name communicates the most information in the most compressed way… While there is logic in competing in an established market, names play a huge part in how much of that market's attention you can garner.

   Creating and owning new language is a powerful way to introduce your new combination of ideas to the world. The goal is to get the response "that's so simple I could've done it." Which paradoxically implies something that is seemingly obvious being acknowledged for the first time.” (—Jack Butcher)

   When I write, my goal is to always demonstrate my own relationship with the thought… how deep do I know what I want others to discover from this very topic or area of interest… how well do I know it so I can restructure it down to it’s ultimate simplicity… simple is where we find infinite meaning.

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5. On launching and being embarrassed — “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late” (— Kevin Kelly) — You cannot overthink your work to the point you don’t launch anything. The best experiences, the best answers and the best audience come from continuously launching your ideas and growing your vision in real time and with the people who support you along the way while you support them with your work… Listen to this podcast episode for more — (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
   

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6. On being resourceful — “Since I did almost everything, I didn’t need 15 people to put together a collection and this is where a little bit of clever and strategy came into place.” (—Mike Amiri, founder Amiri Clothing) — Amiri did’t launch with the most insane budget or the most resources or the biggest network… he was creative. He and his wife built their brand from the ground up because he was masterful at his craft and creative with how people found out about him… that’s it. Don’t stop yourself from launching something you’re passionate about because you don’t think you have enough to start… you have exactly what you need.

   *Today AMIRI is worth over $40 million in sales. The brand is one of the fastest-growing American luxury fashion businesses. 

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7. On wealth and the long game — “It’s not the get rich quick crowd, or the day traders, or the stock market gurus that get wealthy… it’s the people who have the ability to be boring over a long period of time that are the wealthiest.” (—Me) — I was listening to a video by Warren Buffett and then a speech by another investor and they both reiterated the same thing… long term wealth is boring but where all the money is made. Buffett believed that everything good, especially business, takes time… don’t buy into anything that you wouldn’t be willing to dedicate a long period of time… Isn’t that the answer for everything… our art, our passions and interests, our investments, our relationships, our health. In anything you want to see long-term gains in, be willing to invest for a long period of time… otherwise, it’s a waste of your time.

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   Warren Buffett’s 105 Best Quotes of All Time on Investing, Money & Life.

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8. On letting people know your journey — The photo below is a quote from Frank Herbert, author of Dune (via Infinite Books) — A lesson I’ve learned as an entrepreneur over the years is to worry less about the money and how it will all turn out, and to be more concerned with understanding and telling your story as it unfolds. You don’t have to be a writer to tell your story but you will always have the responsibility to be both the author and the main character in it. Tell your story and let your ventures, creative passions, business and audience grow… You’ll get to be you and the world will receive from it.

   

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9. On rethinking the business model of YOU — “The rise of the Internet created the democratization of opportunities, information and access to new markets, as well as new business models without all of the extreme overhead the corporate world was notorious for creating.” (—Matt Gottesman, from my upcoming article on Substack) — Don’t be fooled into thinking that your talent and passions can’t make you a living… and a good one at that. You will undoubtedly have to work hard at it, but working hard a life you want is freedom.

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   Your passions + building an audience + providing tools (products, services, goods) to that audience… on repeat… leveraging the Internet… is a beautiful blessing as we move out of the “matrix” and into our own sovereignty. Rethink everything “they” taught us about business growing up and use the tools at our disposal to serve and you can’t lose… it may take awhile, as everything good does, but you can’t lose so long as you don’t quit.

   
   

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10. Playlist — Jazz House Mix｜Cozy Night in the Living Room - By zououa — A great playlist from @zouzoua on YouTube of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.

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Don’t buy into anything that you wouldn’t be willing to dedicate a long period of time…

I said this above but I want to reiterate that most decisions are quite easy to make…

Is this something you can see yourself involved in for a very long time?

Health, relationships, passions, interests, investments, work.

We usually know this answer but we sometimes divert to misaligned choices simply because we fear uncertainty.

But alignment is certainty.

We mustn’t go against our intuitive nature simply because we don’t know all the details.

Instead, if our intuition says, “I can do that… I can invest my heart and soul for a very long time because it feels right and good and on path for me…” then you can play in decades instead of worrying in days.

If you knew you’re going to really commit, let that be part of your guiding principles for how you make decisions.

As far as what deserves your commitment, go all in for as long as you possibly can.

Go create!

Matt

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