What You Create In the Process & Who You Become In the Process Is the Real Art

10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on billion dollar personal brands, the removal of gatekeepers, your most obvious talents and AI

Matt Gottesman

Dec 27, 2024

Painting by Acousart — “Shadows in Motion”

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The Rundown 13: It Doesn’t Matter the Discipline, All of Us Are Artists on Some Level
The Rundown 14: The Market Isn’t Oversaturated, It Needs More Individuality
The Rundown 15: Starting Matters More Than Being Ready…

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.

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 embracing your story and journey — “The gap between where you are and where you're called isn't distance... it's the space where your story gets interesting.” (—
Matt Gottesman
) — Instead of looking at where you are versus where you want to go, start looking at it as the story you’ll experience and tell. You get to be you and the world gets the benefit.
On personal brands being worth more than corporate giants — “The Nike brand has fallen by $25B since January... Sports stars are now opening their own INDEPENDENT BRANDS because they make more money. They've got large social media followings and don't need Nike to promote themselves." — The "individual" will be the billion dollar brand of the future because we now have all the leverage. When you combine passions + skillsets + audience + transparency + tools we've never had before... we hold all the cards. Be careful giving away your value because a big company "looks" like they have the distribution power. While some partnerships make good business sense, consider playing the long game of building your own community and leverage to control your reputation and brand.
On perspective shifts in handling tough parts of our journey — “He gets to deal with it (criticism). It’s the ultimate compliment. This is what you asked for. You asked to be one of the best players in the NBA on the best team in the NBA with an opportunity to be an icon with the league for a long long time. This is what you asked for.” (—Joe Mazzula) — I found this video snippet by @mojocrowe on Instagram breaking down Joe Mazzulla’s approach to his championship winning Boston Celtics. While Mazzulla employs 3 key characteristics… team, tough (courage to be yourself), and thankfulness. In team you experience love. In tough you experience yourself. In thankfulness you experience all the world has to give you. You don’t “have to” do anything. You “get to” do everything.
On no more gatekeepers — “The barriers to entry in nearly everything have been eliminated. We've been operating for so long with gatekeepers that it’s almost a shock when people realize you can go into any market you want and create whatever you like without anyone telling you what credentials you need to have in order to play. ” (—Matt Gottesman,) — I came across a clip below from YouTuber Erik Rasmussen remaking a million dollar VFX scene from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker alone in one week. I’m not saying you need to make VFX videos. What I’m saying is that the barriers to entry for anything you want have been demolished. We now have access to digital tools in AI, graphic design, video, writing, music production, education and countless others in order to create anything we want in any industry or discipline we desire and to make as much money as we’d like. Quickly remove the idea that anyone can tell you what you should and shouldn’t go into, and instead, immediately go create in any field you desire. The creator economy leveled the whole playing field and we’re eating the corporate world’s lunch.
On your most obvious talents — “Are your most obvious talents the ones you’re taking for granted the most” — On a recent podcast, I spoke about why we sometimes overlook the most obvious things in our lives in order to focus on others that feel a bit more forced, as well as the cost of devaluing our natural gifts, how ease creates invisibility, conquering the “anyone can do this” myth, common blindspots, pricing our talents and more — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)

CHECK OUT PODCAST HERE
On pursuing obsession mercilessly — “Don’t bend, don’t water it down, don’t try to make it logical, don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” (—Franz Kafka) — Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was an influential writer from Prague who’s primary artistic philosophy was authenticity over conformity. He advocated for artists and writers to pursue their true creative vision rather than adapting their work to fit social expectations or commercial demands. You’ll come to find that throughout all of history, choosing a “different” path than societal norm will always be considered a threat to those who dare to dream. You have to pursue your highest purpose and best self mercilessly in order to combat the distractions and noise of the “what if” crowds.
On consistency being the outlier — “Stop trying to be spectacular. Start trying to be consistent” (—Shane Parrish) — Below is a snippet from Parrish’s Tweet — As I was reflecting, here were 6 things that came up for me that I want to pass on to you… 1.) Avoid making bad plays, 2.) the hardest consistency is avoiding the stupid things, 3.) your worst days need your greatest devotion, 4.) outliers are built in the daily practice, 5.) recovery costs more than prevention, 6.) your reputation is built in the trenches.
On AI handling our everyday admin work — Two quotes come to mind on the state of AI — “AI is a tool. The choice about how it gets deployed is ours.” (—Oren Etzioni) & “AI is not going to destroy jobs, it's going to create new ones we haven't even imagined yet.” (—Satya Nadella) — There are two perspectives: people will be replaced by AI, or people will be replaced by people using AI. The reality? AI is simply another tool in human history, designed to handle cognitive-heavy admin work so we can focus on creative and visionary tasks. AI agents - autonomous software that can perceive, decide, and act to accomplish goals - are just digital assistants that help achieve this vision. Those who learn to harness AI's capabilities while maintaining human creativity and judgment will thrive in this new era. Enjoy the clip below 🤣
On your calendar exposing your priorities — “Your calendar isn't just recording your time—it's exposing your lies. Don’t tell me your priorities. Show me your calendar.” (—Shane Parrish) — I’ve been saying for over 5 years that your calendar can reshape your whole reality. It’s not meant to be a rigid set of boundaries, although they certainly can be, but instead a way to “mood board” your tasks and priorities. What does each hour of the day get dedicated to? Not just your work, but ALL aspects of your life. You’d be surprised how documenting them on a calendar eventually becomes a habit without needing it.

Playlist — Sunday Afternoon Jazzy Deep House Mix — Another great playlist from Lilicay on YouTube @lilicay of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.

What You Create In the Process & Who You Become In the Process is the Real Art

The real masterpiece isn't just what you build—it's who you become while building it.

In an era where AI handles the mundane… the gatekeepers fade away… and personal brands outshine corporations… your unique journey of creation becomes the artwork itself.

Every skill you sharpen, every obstacle you overcome, and every authentic choice you make adds another point of leverage to your life.

The tools are here. The barriers are gone. All that's left is you.

You’re only being asked to be consistent… with your time, priorities and creativity.

Everything else will be a byproduct of that.

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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