The Game Isn't Speed... It's Depth
10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on vision, patience, creating enduring value and integrity driven profit
🔥CHECK OUT THE APPAREL - CLICK HERE
New here? Click HERE for why I write weekly letters & essays.
Need to catch up?
The Rundown 23: Don’t Rush to Fit Someone Else’s Timeline… A Mission Takes Decades
The Rundown 24: Build For Substance Not Speed… Creating Space Let’s Your Work Speak For Itself
The Rundown 25: The Most Powerful Choice You’ll Ever Make Isn’t Between Success & Failure… But Conformity & Authenticity
Hey Everyone,
Before I begin this week’s Rundown…
**I’m currently developing an All-in-One Notion Dashboard to help you streamline your creativity, productivity and income — so you can manage the technical, creative and financial aspect of your work easier. it's not just another project management tool or content calendar, but a complete operating system for the modern creative professional who needs to be both artistically fulfilled and commercially successful. You can join the waitlist here.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program…
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 having direction & being open to the unknown — "Write your goals in ink and your strategies in pencil” (—Anonymous) — I've found that having a vision is necessary, but we should also be flexible in how the path looks to accomplishing it. If we're not careful, we can become so rigid in our expectations of how things should go that we miss out on the assistance of better opportunities helping us achieve that vision. Vision gives us direction, but openness gives us an abundance of options we wouldn't have thought of.
On executing ideas faster — "Your creative downloads or your intuitive ideas to talk about things and share them… that's being given to you as a gift. And if you just follow it as soon as it comes up, nine times out of 10, it will reach the people it needs to reach and it'll have a huge impact.." (—Nadia Khaled) — I love the urgency of inspiration… I've experienced those 3AM moments when an idea arrives fully formed, demanding attention. What seems inconvenient in the moment — the disruption, the odd timing, the impulse that won't wait — often becomes our most impactful work. We sometimes forget that these insights aren't random mental events but genuine gifts arriving precisely when they're meant to. The question isn't whether the timing is convenient, but whether we're willing to receive what's being offered despite the inconvenience.
On mastering the game rather than jumping to new ones — "You understand all the bad stuff, but you also understand all the good stuff and how to avoid the bad stuff and maximize the good… you stick on the right path long enough and you end up achieving what you originally thought was really easy and fast." (—Alex Hormozi) — This entrepreneur life cycle Hormozi describes hits painfully close to home… for my earlier days and seeing countless other talented people bounce between the "uninformed optimism" of new ventures and the "informed pessimism" that follows, never breaking through to mastery. The true inflection point isn't finding the perfect opportunity; it's having the patience to move through the "valley of despair" rather than starting over. What looks like overnight success to outsiders is almost always the result of someone who chose to understand the game deeply rather than abandoning it when reality didn't match their initial expectations. True proficiency isn't just knowing what works — it's understanding why things fail and how to navigate around those pitfalls
On treating small decisions with long-term vision — "One common trait I found amongst many of the great companies is that the founders are in it for the long haul and the way you see that evidence is that very early on, they are extremely deliberate about all kinds of small decisions." (—Naval Ravikant) — What Naval highlights here resonates deeply with my own experience as a founder. I've often found myself obsessing over details that others might consider trivial - from the specific language in a newsletter to the exact spacing in a design. It's not perfectionism for its own sake; it's because I'm acutely aware that these early decisions compound over time. Each choice feels like placing a brick in what will eventually become a cathedral rather than quickly assembling a temporary structure. Those "unnecessary" questions and tweaks that some find excessive are exactly what enable the greater vision to unfold organically. This approach isn't about control issues or overthinking – it's the natural behavior of someone who genuinely believes they're building something that will outlast them. I've learned that how you handle the small decisions reveals the true size of your vision.
On thinking bigger — “It’s bigger than you think… God will provide.” (—Matt Gottesman) — In a recent podcast I talked about how our prayers are always being answered, why “no’s” are also prayers working in our favor, why our purpose is bigger than we think, why it’s harder to think bigger in a physical world, letting go of who we think we are to be who we really are and — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On accessing powerful tools without massive budgets — "The democratization of the Internet allows you to move faster than fancy agencies and high cost resources." (—Matt Gottesman) — What fascinates me about today's creative landscape is how quickly the playing field is leveling. Just a few years ago, creating professional-quality visuals required expensive equipment, specialized training, and often an entire agency team. Now, tools like Midjourney for AI imagery, LTX Studio for video effects, FlareAI for product modeling, and Adobe Firefly for commercially safe content put studio-quality production in reach of individual creators. This democratization isn't just about cost savings—it's about speed, experimentation, and creative independence. You no longer need to wait for budget approval or agency availability to test a visual concept. The real advantage here isn't just technological—it's psychological. When you can quickly validate ideas without prohibitive costs, you're free to think bigger and move faster than ever before. These tools don't replace creativity; they amplify it. (Video via @rourkeheath on Instagram)
On starting over as part of the process — “Starting over doesn’t have to be a major life event. Every day is a new episode of your story. Just pick up where you left off.” (—Deniz, The Art of Starting Over) — What hit me most about Deniz’s reflection is that starting over isn’t always a clean break — sometimes it’s just a conscious pivot. A return to movement after stillness. A wiser step forward with lessons you couldn’t have learned any other way. I used to see resets as disruptions, but now I see them as recalibrations. Each day gives us a new chance to move with more awareness, more depth, more alignment. You’re not back at square one — you’re starting from experience. The path may curve, the pace may shift, but the journey continues. And that, in itself, is progress.
On building community through depth over display — “You don't build community with reach, you build them with ritual.” (—via @jason_swet) — What Jon Bellion is doing isn’t a marketing tactic — it’s a commitment to depth over display. In a world obsessed with frictionless growth, he’s choosing intimacy. Manual links. Lo-fi drops. Private emails. Early files. Unpolished rollouts. Not to be mysterious — but to be meaningful. The message is clear: if you want to be part of this, show up. Not as a passive follower, but as an active participant. And that’s the beauty of it — when your community becomes the distribution, your art becomes something people belong to, not just consume. There’s no rush. No algorithm to please. Just real connection through shared access, trust, and craft. We don’t need bigger audiences — we need deeper rituals. Ones that remind people: you matter here.
On matching the weight of your decisions with the time you give them — “I would argue that if you're making a four-year decision, spend a year thinking it through.” (—Naval Ravikant) — In an age of instant choices and rapid pivots, this hits like a deep breath. Naval reminds us that not all decisions deserve equal speed. Some are foundational — where you live, who you partner with, the direction of your work — and yet we often rush them, treating life-altering moves like casual to-do's. But what if we matched the magnitude of a decision with the depth of our consideration? What if we gave slow thought to the things that shape our next season — not out of fear, but out of respect? The pace of your life doesn’t have to be frantic. You can choose to slow down in the places that truly matter… because building wisely will always outperform moving quickly in the long run.
Playlist — Chill Soulful House Music Mix — Relax Sunset Dinner Playlist — Another great playlist from Flavour Trip on YouTube @flavourtrip of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
The Game Isn’t Speed… It’s Depth
What this week made clear is that the game isn’t speed… it’s depth.
We’re taught to chase more, move fast, pivot constantly — but real mastery, real creativity, real community? They emerge when we slow down long enough to pay attention.
To the invisible layers of our vision.
To the creative whispers that come uninvited at 3AM.
To the “small” decisions that quietly shape the architecture of a legacy.
To the sacred act of beginning again, not as a failure, but as someone now equipped with more awareness and intention.
Every step you take isn’t a restart — it’s a refinement.
Every decision doesn’t need to be rushed — it needs to be rooted.
Every post, product, or pivot doesn’t have to please the algorithm — it has to honor the people who are already leaning in.
And every community worth building starts not with attention, but with trust, ritual, and the kind of care that can’t be faked.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel — you just need to move with the wisdom of someone who’s already learned how to build one that lasts.
The niche is you.
Until next week,
– Matt
P.S. If you found value in this week's insights, consider sharing this post with someone who might need this reminder about the power of individuality. ↙️
🔐 Consider becoming a paid subscriber…
My Substack is a “reader supported” publication. Please consider becoming a “paid subscriber” which will give you access to 1.) exclusive subscriber-only content, 2.) podcast episodes, 3.) membership in a creative community, 4.) access to our private community chat feature, 5.) Q&A’s & LIVEs, 6.) Quarterly workshops, and 7.) early access & discounts to books, apparel, events, workshops & more.
I am truly grateful for you supporting my journey while I support yours.
Not a reader? Follow along below:
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign Up
Connect With Me…
☼ Podcast
☼ Apparel
☼ Text Me
☼ Instagram
☼ Twitter
In the meantime, tell your friends!
Thanks for the playlist recommendation! I just saved it to Spotify…love deep house, focus house, chill house…🩶