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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
The Rundown 10: Not Waiting For Permission is the Fastest Way to Sovereign 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 becoming more confident with your work — ”The fastest way to become more confident in your work is simple… publish it immediately.” (— Matt Gottesman) — I had previously written here on Substack, Try these habits to become more confident with your work:
1—To expand creativity: publish
2—To reach new people: publish
3—To find new opportunities: publish
4—To deepen your craft: publish
5—To prevent perfectionism: publish
6—To remove procrastination: publish
7—To increase confidence: publish
8—To generate more ideas: publish
Remember… sharing your work is generous
It sparked some good inquiries so I’m sharing this with all of you. Listen, publishing your work is a great way to get a pulse on your own vision, find a unique way to deliver more value, expand your opportunities and build way more confidence. The act of publishing your work makes what you do real and everything from there will be about how long you can do it for.On creating opportunities — “It takes a lot to realize you control your own life. People go to work to make a living to fund the lives to go back to work to make the living… it’s a never ending race. If you step out of the matrix for a second you’ll realize all you want to do is be happy.” (—SAINt JHN) — I came across this video and I feel it epitomizes my beliefs on why each person needs to remove themselves from a prescripted life to one they can ideate for themselves. You have more control over your life based on your decisions… even if that means you have to make some really tough choices that realign you with the direction you want for yourself. Discipline is freedom. Creativity is freedom. Your freedom comes with touch choices, but it’s worth it.
On becoming a designer and expanding your skills — “Writing allowed me to become more creative in other areas. It started with having visions of other things I could create, which turned into me mocking up those ideas through design. I wasn’t a designer to begin with, but I needed to design what I wanted to see more of… so yeah, I’m a designer.” (—Matt Gottesman) — I found this quote awhile back and I thought it was very fitting for all of us. When we write, we’re bringing our voice out of our head and into the world. I found that writing caused me to expand on so many ideas… First, it brought clarity and direction. Second, it brought me to a place where I needed to make visuals to depict what I wanted to see. I wasn’t a trained designer through school. I became a designer as a necessity… and that’s how most things begin.
On becoming rich — “The most important skill for getting rich is becoming a perpetual learner. You have to know how to learn anything you want to learn. The old model of making money is going to school for four years, getting your degree, and working as a professional for thirty years… It’s much more important today to be able to become an expert in a brand-new field in 9-12 months than to have studied the “right” thing a long time ago.” (—Naval Ravikant, on building wealth) — I’ve always found Naval to be the bridge between the “old ways” of doing things and the new world we live in. Today, there are so many new ways to learn, connect and earn because of the Internet. People are in communities teaching finance, crypto and trading. Others are tech skill stacking their way into building online platforms, subscription-based businesses and educational tools. There’s no shortage of ways to learn wealth-building, but it’s the ones who execute that will reap the benefits.
On increasing your odds of success — “The best way to increase the odds of success is to become systematically good at several things that work well together.” (—Scott Adams, How to Fail At Almost Everything & Still Win Big) — On my podcast, I discussed Scott Adams view of looking at the “math” in something we’re trying to become better at. Some of the points that were spoken about… 1.) Success is usually a few skills working together (skill stacking) that help each other, 2.) Find and measure your blindspots, 3.) learning to play defense and offense at the same time — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On creating mockups without expensive photoshoots — I sometimes need the perfect vibe for my client work or my apparel… the ability to show how a final product would look on clothing, a billboard, packaging, you name it. I’ve found several sites out there, but here are some more recent ones I found after I saw Uthinh Pham’s Video (@uthinhpham — watch below) — Here are the resources: maneken.app (drag and drop mockup website); flyrwrk.com (tons of templates fonts, textures, mockups, et); mockups-design.com (lots of options) - Uthinh noted that these sites have tons of freebies but also can be subscription based but from what I’ve seen so far… they’re definitely worth it!
On gaining designations & accolades — “it’s nice for people to take notice of your work, but I find they’re usually last to the party.” (— Matt Gottesman) — In a post I did on Instagram I talked about not worrying about 20 under 20, 30 under 30, 40 under 40 or 50 under 50… nor what that has to do with your value and the light you bring to the world. The reason I share this is for two reasons. First, you’re more than a list, period. Second, I find that by the time they realize who you are, you’ve already been doing so many incredible things with your work and you’re on to the next things. If you need the designation for branding, I’d rethink the brand you’re building. Receive the accolades, awards and top lists, but only as a byproduct of you being your authentic self and bringing your work to the world, not you chasing them to approve what you create. That’s just my two cents on creating freely and without constraints of approval.
On ignoring the distractions — “You can be told a lot of things to be, do and have if you’re not careful. The real question is, who are you and why are you here? Answer that for yourself and the world will receive everything you’re capable of.” (—Matt Gottesman) — I saw Zach Pogrob’s post below and he’s spot on about creating the world around you and not outside of you. We’re all outliers and outsiders… we just need time to develop our vision and stand in fortitude for doing things different. The world will reward you for your authenticity far more than for fitting in… mostly because it’s your authenticity that they can find you.
On supporting your friend’s work — “Buy art from living artists. The dead ones don’t need the money” (—Anonymous) — I saw this quote online and I thought it was a great reason to tell you to support your friend’s work. It takes a lot to create new products, new artwork, new concepts, new apparel, new anything. I’m not saying you should buy something you don’t resonate with, but for the things that you do, I’d strongly consider you purchasing from them over celebrities. Your support has a much more profound effect on them than the celebrity who doesn’t know you. Especially going into this holiday season.
Playlist — Jazzy House Session By ROSSA at Lounge Bar in Paris — A great playlist from @rossafm on YouTube of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
The World Will Reward You For Standing Out Far More Than For Fitting In…
I understand the feeling of wanting to be seen for your work—being acknowledged and celebrated is an incredible boost of confidence.
However, don’t think that you have to follow the crowd or mimic what others are doing to gain recognition or make an impact with your purpose.
True connection happens when you lean into your unique vision, unapologetically sharing what makes you, you.
Authenticity takes time to resonate, but when it does, it creates something far more powerful…
trust, loyalty, and a legacy that can’t be duplicated.
So trust your voice, stay the course, and remember—what makes you different is what makes you unforgettable.
Go create!
Matt
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Hi Matt! Really glad I found you over here (see you on Instagram usually). I really appreciate point #7 -- they're usually last to the party. I often feel I'm doing something that's at least a bit ahead of the curve, so it can often feel like we're not really making a difference. But of course, I'm not seeking numbers, but it's still nice to at least feel seen. Ultimately I guess we want to even move beyond that. Not that it's a need, but if we've been embodying more of our authenticity it's nice to feel it's integrated and accepted.
First one hits 🎯 great article!