Not Waiting For Permission is the Fastest Way to Sovereign Wealth
10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on scaling your obsessions, becoming irreplaceable & sovereign wealth
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The Rundown 7: Don’t Buy Into Anything You Wouldn’t Be Willing to Dedicate a Long Period of Time
The Rundown 8: On the Contrary… Simplicity Brings the Most Abundance
The Rundown 9: Do the Opposite of Everyone Else… You Gain the Most Advantage, Creativity & Wealth
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…
On not waiting for permission — Interviewer (to me): How did you become a “publisher"?” Me: I started writing online. (— Matt Gottesman) — Something I discovered long ago with the Internet is simple, the gatekeepers can no longer gatekeep. Instead of needing validation from publishers, corporate hierarchies, public relation firms, agencies… you name it… we have the power to make something our own, build an audience, serve them well and create businesses (should we choose) from the things we love without gaining the approval or distribution from others. Welcome to your freedom.
On letting your work sell for itself — “The CTAs (calls-to-action) in content are not very effective. They kill reach, it feels weird, no one likes it whatever. People will naturally just naturally take the next step if you just put it in the descriptions or link-in-bio… you will get traffic to your stuff by just saying this is what I do.” (— Alex Hormozi) — I agree with Alex… create to let others find you, then give them the means to do more discovery on you… chances are, the reason they found you is also the subject matter they might be looking to get help on or the simply want to consume your goods and services. Either way, your work gains their trust.
On scaling your niche obsession — “The Internet is an inter-networking tool. It connects everybody… that means you can find your audience for your product or your talent or your skill no matter how far away they are… so no matter what niche obsession you have, the Internet allows you to scale.” (—Naval Ravikant) — This is why the “information” age reverses the Industrial age in how we approach work, markets, sales, impact, business operations… literally everything. The Internet changed the rules so it’s the people who need to remember that their dreams are relevant again… now more than ever.
On crypto & sovereign wealth — “My only crypto take is that if you don’t find some of it incredible you’re not paying attention, and if you don’t find most of it absurd you’re not paying attention, and you could say the same thing about most new industries.” (—Morgan Housel, author of Psychology of Money) — I’ve been in crypto since 2017… my whole background is tech and the Internet so of course, I have stake in crypto. I understand it’s underlying technological capabilities and not just it’s financial ones. I never give any investment advice, nor do I constitute my take on crypto as financial advice… I will say, you have to find it “incredible” that a technology like Bitcoin (BTC) was created as a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency to enable secure and transparent transactions without relying on governments or financial institutions, or what I like to call sovereign wealth. I think that’s something paying attention to.
On breaking up the monotony in your work — “Sometimes we hit a period of being stuck in our work because we’ve been doing the same thing for a very long period of time. The key is to break up the ‘sameness’ in the routine so you can find new invigoration and excitement.” (—Matt Gottesman) — It’s easy to get stuck when we’re playing the long game of our work… something works, we stick with it and then all of a sudden, it feels stagnant. We have to reinvent ourselves and our work countless times in the process — first, because it helps us expand our creativity and craft, second, because it helps us continue in our journey — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On apparel as an extension of your message — “Sometimes the movement is worn on our backs to remind us and others to stick to the plan." (—Matt Gottesman) — I watched another video by @orenmeetsworld on Instagram, talking about brands including apparel and merchandise in their process. Yes, it may seem weird for some businesses, but I’m not so sure. Today’s brands are all about having the one-to-one connection. They don’t just want to bring you solutions to your problem… they want to bring you value to your whole way of being. I created the start of my apparel for this very reason. (YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT HERE) — consider including something tangible people can wear of your message on repeat. Every message I put on my apparel is something I wrote that I hope inspires the next person who sees it. We can all influence each other at scale this weay.
On creating a role that’s irreplaceable — “The most interesting and highest leverage jobs aren’t on the org chart. Make them up.” (— Anu Atluru) — In today’s rapidly changing career landscape, the traditional roles aren’t as in demand… yes, some of them are, but there are many new roles that used to not exist. This is because there are new needs, new opportunities, new technology and new ways of doing things that old ways can’t do. An individual creator who partners with Adobe Software to create short form viral videos at $10,000+ per reel and gets 1M+ views was not something the advertising world ever prepared for. You now get the responsibility to carve any path you’d like and bring your value to the market…. you simply have to go all in.
On knowing what problem to solve — “Many people who feel like they’re failures often feel that way because they haven’t yet discovered their purpose. the word purpose means the reason why something exists. So, in order to understand what your purpose is you need to identify what is the problem you were created to solve.” (—Delroy Moyo) — I love Delroy's simple message: we're all trying to figure out what we most want to create for the people we feel connected to and the problems we're here to solve. I think we can overcomplicate this when we pay too much attention to what others are doing and creating. It’s easy to get distracted by others’ success and money, but you were meant to have success and money as well… figure out what you’re here to solve and create from that instinct.
On the riches in the niches — “The riches are in the niches, but the fortune is in the follow-up.” (—Pat Flynn) — If the riches are in the niches, and I believe they are, then you’re the ultimate money because the niche is you. Now, with that being said, I think you should pick a few areas of interests that you wouldn’t mind being aligned with for a very long time. For me, creativity, entrepreneurship, God and technology are usually what I’m called to speak on, write about or teach. These are niche areas that speak to me deeply and then there are even deeper niches within these. I say all this to remind you that when it comes to the “main"“ niche of you, go wide and share who you are so people get to know you, and when it comes to the niches of the things you just can’t ignore and are obsessed with figuring out, go deep.
Playlist — Soulful Deep House DJ Set - Afterwork Music Mix | Lounge Chillout Relax | Greta — Another great playlist from @gretaandru on YouTube of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
Not Waiting For Permission is the Fastest Way to Sovereign Wealth…
We were told:
— “your work is under review”
— “we’ll get back to when there’s an opening”
— “it’s not what we’re looking for right now”
— “come back to us when you have more credibility”
— “we don’t do things that way”
These people clearly didn’t anticipate the Internet.
Those days have long been over.
Everyday we see a new individual launch their obsessions online, turn it into a brand or business and create a different way to live their life and earn their wealth.
Yes, some business principles can be passed down through generations… naturally! Good business will always be good business.
But new business intersecting with the Internet and technology has allowed us to rethink work, money and purpose…
and they can all be working together at the same time.
It just so happens you get to be the boss instead.
Go create!
Matt
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I loved so many of the things said in this post. Really great! Thanks for your thoughts.