The Market Doesn't Want Your Content, It Wants Your World
10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on the art of making money, building a brand vs a business and making your creativity sustainable
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The Rundown 16: What You Create in the Process & Who You Become is the Real Art
The Rundown 17: Entrepreneurship is Really Just Organized Creativity
The Rundown 18: Your Role Isn’t To Conform To What Exists, It’s To Create What Doesn’t
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 meaning over metrics — “The moment you start creating for metrics, is the moment you stop creating for meaning… and part of you feels missing in the process.” (—) — In a recent essay I did (which you can find HERE), I observed a truth about creation... your growth through the process matters infinitely more than society's metrics of success. When you place pressure on external validation, your work becomes a reflection of external pressures rather than internal purpose. But when you approach creation as a practice — a daily refinement of what you're here to do — something amazing happens. You find your freedom and your liberation… and yes, you even find abundance... as a byproduct rather than the goal..
On the freedom to create the way you want — “It doesn’t have to be the greatest you ever do. It doesn’t have to have any expectation that it’s going to change the world. It doesn’t have to be ‘this has to sell a certain number of copies,’ for any reason… all it is is, ‘I’m making this thing for me and I want to do it to the best of my ability to where I feel good about it and it’s honest.” (—Rick Rubin) — I think a fundamental principle Rubin portrays so well is that you need two things… 1.) the ability to create freely without expectation so you can see what’s honest to yourself, and 2.) the ability to use that approach to keep creating forward… Sooner or later you’ll piece together all the components that make up your life’s work, but in order to have “your life’s work,” you need to keep putting yourself out there.
On building a brand versus a business — “A business may exist without a brand, but a brand is what makes a business memorable. A business is what you do. A brand is how people perceive what you do. A strong brand can outlive a business.” (—video via Jeevan of advertigo on Instagram) — This is a big reason why social media is becoming “world building” for so many newer emerging brands (professional and personal). The more a brand connects with you, the more you feel understood. Whatever you build, build for longevity, connection and community… build a brand that cares about it’s mission and the people it’s trying to impact.
On developing a practice long before the big game — “If you don’t come in and treat every day as game day, you’ll never be ready for game day. I practiced so hard so that games are easy.” (—Tim Grover & Michael Jordan) — Most people want the big game… they want the opportunity to shine… but it’s not what you think. The opportunity to shine is during the practice… it shows you who you are, why you’re doing it and builds your entire existence long before the opportunities arrive. Jordan was right… I’d rather practice so hard and so disciplined so that as each game arrives, it’s really just an easy pick up game. Learn to love the practice… otherwise, why are you doing the thing you’re doing in the first place.
On building your world instead of a platform — “It’s no longer about building a platform, but building a world in which others can see themselves in your story.” — On a recent podcast, I spoke about why “world building” is more important than just building your online presence, why community building is everything, how people no longer want content but context, how perfect “content” is no longer celebrated, why your story is the most important one to tell — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On the art of making money — “Making money is an art, and you need to see it that way. If you’re looking for something that will just make you money without enjoying the process, you’re likely to fail. But if you start enjoying the journey and find ways to make money while loving what you do, you’ll succeed.” (—dealfuel.co on Instagram) — I thought this clip is a perfect example of two different paths of thinking. Option A, take the path you’re told makes money. Option B, create your own path and figure out the best way you want to make money. Making money can happen any way you want it to, but you have to be willing to launch ideas, experiment with your path and process and deliver value to the people you’re looking to solve problems or desires for… HINT— it’s usually what you solved for yourself.
On standing by your value — “One of the most important things you can do for your products or services pricing is know how you’re different than the market, that you’re better in a unique way that only you can provide and that you’re connected deeply to your process… why? Cause then you’ll always stand by your pricing.” (—Matt Gottesman) — Hormozi really simplified a great point here… when people compare your pricing to someone else who’s doing less, that’s not a comparison, that’s a passive way to ask for a discount. If people like what you do and how you do it, they have to be willing to pay the difference from their other options.
On having a creative career — “Up until 2022, I would have considered myself more of a ‘traditional artist’ in that I made my entire living off of selling paintings and prints. My entire business revolved around that, it was like my only revenue stream. Only in the past couple years did I start taking my YouTube seriously and because of that writing and filming and editing has become a significant to my task list… we are constantly evolving as artists and as self-employed people we’re really fortunate to have the freedom to forge our own paths and create a career that works best for us. It’s best to lean into the things that interest you and are working.” (—Brooke Cormier) — What I like about Brooke’s approach is two-fold. First, she recognizes the need to diversify and she has. As a creator, she can decide multiple ways to make money from a common thread or throughput (her art and process). Second, she recognizes the ability to diversify her skills so she can scale her efforts. There’s freedom in forging your own path, but it will also require discipline, responsibility and showing up but that’s the entry cost to doing things your way in this world. *SIDE NOTE — as I’ve mentioned, I’m working on a NOTION operating system to manage both the creative and the business side of things… if you’re interested, you can join the waitlist here - CLICK HERE
On sustainable systems for your talent — “Talent isn’t enough. You need systems. You need consistency. You need people around you to guide, challenge and elevate you. Michael Jordan didn’t just start winning; he started winning with intention. Are you operating in your gift without a system.” (—ET The HipHop Preacher) — The main underlying point ET was making is that Jordan put up points every game regardless of them winning… sooner or later that translated into predictable championships. Jordan developed “systems” for how he played the game. Your output is no different… my creative output is a byproduct of my systems. I run off a schedule, a tech stack, processes and frameworks… it makes my craft better, my growth scalable and my life directional. You can be really good and burn out, or you can be really great and sustainable… systems solve for this. Again, if you need, I’m building an operating system for this based off of my own processes. Click HERE for the waitlist link.
Playlist — Sunny Smooth House Mix in Brooklyn — A great playlist from VERO MA on YouTube @bookclubradio of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
The Market Doesn’t Just Want Your Output, It Wants Your World
The path to creative freedom isn't about following rules — it's about creating environments where your ideas can thrive.
Look at the evidence…
Rick Rubin's philosophy of creating without expectation. Jordan's dedication to practice that made games feel easy. Artists like Brooke Cormier evolving their craft into new forms.
They all point to the same truth — creativity thrives when given both freedom and foundation.
This isn't about confining your creativity with systems — it's about creating containers that let it grow. Your frameworks become gardens, not cages, and your processes become pathways, not prisons.
Here's what's often missing from the conversation about pursuing your passions and interests — creative freedom is not just about what you create, but how sustainably you can keep creating.
It's about building worlds where your ideas can evolve, where your audience finds context not just content, where your value becomes undeniable.
The market doesn't just want your output — it wants your world. Your story. Your unique way of seeing and doing things.
Let your creativity thrive. Build the systems that sustain it. Create the world that only you can create.
And whatever you do, make it unmistakably yours.
Go create!
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. ↙️
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