The World Might Not Be Watching Now, But They'll Notice What You've Built
10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on volume leading to breakthroughs, not devaluing your expertise and mastering basics is highly profitable
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The Rundown 19: The Market Doesn’t Want Your Content, It Wants Your World
The Rundown 20: You Can Make a Good Living From a Traditional Path, Or You Can Make an Exceptional One Following Your Intuition
The Rundown 21: Build Something So Real, So True, That It Demands to Be Remembered
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 taking your shot as often as possible — “Frank Sinatra had 1,200 songs, 209 hits (17%), Babe Ruth had 8,399 attempts, 714 homeruns (8.5%), Pablo Picasso had 150K+ pieces (yes, 150K+), 1,170 hits (0.7%)… 90% of their output was not popular… keep going.” (—) — From a recent post on Instagram, I wanted to show that our capacity for luck increases with the amount of our work we share with the world. It’s easy to look at the “Greats” and see only their success but what you didn’t see was how much of their work wasn’t popular or even noticed. Just put out your work and let ALL of it be your portfolio that represents you.
On not holding your success strictly to going viral — “It’s all about consistency. Even I put out like 3 or 4 songs that no one cares about. I put out another song like “I Adore You” and then it goes viral… this is like the magic these days… just be grateful about it and be like, it might never happen but just be grateful that it happened. The industry is like, if you have a big song and the next 3 songs flop, he’s done. This can make you very sad. I’m just so happy and grateful. Make good things and good things will happen. (—Topic) — You’re more than a “viral hit.” Don’t let yourself think that the only good work you’ve done is the work that either went viral or was widely celebrated… all of your work is to be celebrated as it represents your evolution, mastery and future hits.
On not devaluing your creative expertise — “We live in a new world that uses multi-creative touch points across multiple platforms and requires a multitude of skillsets… usually learned through experience and not taught in schools. Business has fundamentally changed, and so too, has it’s customers who interact with brands 24/7 from a real, authentic and meaningful place. For those of you who are delivering your value as a set of creative services, please keep in mind that your skillsets are the highest in demand are are shaping a global digital economy that is worth more than 2.5x the Global GDP.” (—Matt Gottesman) — While I do think there’s a range in what you charge for creative services, as there should be based on results, I do also want to remind you that the reasons these types of attributes in business are not always immediately valued is because a.) they weren’t taught in schools, b.) they are newer concepts that older businesses and generations didn’t have access to, and c.) “they” think the ease of technology equates to simplicity of skills — when in reality, today's creative expertise requires mastering multiple platforms, understanding human psychology, building authentic connections, and delivering value across an ever-evolving digital landscape. (Video via @qmecreative Mary Elizabeth on Instagram)
On showing your process and building in real time — “Not everyone will purchase from you, but not everyone is your customer… some are your fans, some are your followers, some are your students, some are your observers and some are your supporters. However, showing your process to all will inspire the people who truly want what you make and the work you share will market itself.” (—Matt Gottesman) — When you share your process authentically, you're not just selling products — you're inviting people into your story. This transparency creates multiple levels of connection, where some become customers, others become advocates, and many become inspired observers. The key isn't converting everyone into buyers, but rather building a community that believes in your journey, making your actual customers' decisions more meaningful and your brand's impact more lasting — (Video via @durumalarms on Instagram).
On selling your art not being a form of “sell out” — “Selling your art (work) is not selling out… it’s earning from your merit.” — On a recent podcast, I spoke about how creative people sometimes get caught up in creativity so much that they think selling means selling out, how value and revenue creates more opportunities, why merit creates the market and excellence demands investment, sustainable creation — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On understanding the basics really well — “Mistake was memorization. Right? Because when you're actually trying to live your life in congruence with reality, you you want to have a deep understanding of what you do and why you do it. And so it's much more important to know the basics really well than just to know the advanced. Knowing calculus wouldn't help you today. It doesn't help you in business, doesn't help you in most things. But knowing arithmetic really will will help you really, whether it's at the corner grocery store, counting change, to figuring out the value of your podcast business, to figuring out how to do the probability math on, you know, some action that you wanna take.” (— Naval Ravikant) — The most successful creators don't just chase advanced strategies or trendy techniques - they master the fundamentals of their craft and business. Just as Naval points out that basic arithmetic serves you better than complex calculus, understanding your core value, audience needs, and basic business principles will take you further than memorizing the latest marketing tactics or growth hacks. The key is building from a foundation of real understanding rather than copying surface-level success formulas, because when you truly grasp the basics, you can adapt them to any situation your creative business faces.
On making excuses vs putting in the work — “Maybe it’s my fault… maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner. That my game was built on flash not fire. Maybe it’s my fault that you didn’t see the failure that gave me strength that my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you believe that basketball was a God-given gift and not something I worked for every single day of my life. Maybe I destroyed the game… or maybe you’re just out of excuses. (—Michael Jordan) — It’s so easy to assume that the work, success, “game winning shots,” and wins from the people you admire is overnight… or that their natural talent is something that comes easily so therefore is the reason they do so well… but the truth is, it’s their repetition, consistency, dedication, devotion and commitment every single day to their craft that puts them into those situations. Have the courage to honor your God-given gifts and talents more than being distracted by everything else… your lane (and mission) is more important than your distractions.
On not chasing other’s returns — “Ambitious people often get caught up chasing those who already have what they want, but the irony is that the outlier’s path is only a path for one. Every outlier has to carver their own.” (—Anu Atluru) — I couldn’t agree more… each of you have something you ca
On hiring yourself — “Nobody would hire me so I started my own film production company… when brands didn’t answer I made better work. When agencies didn’t want me, I built my own connections. It starts slow. One job led to another, one connection turned into two, and eventually landed my first big client... here’s the thing, it’s not that I was good enough, it was that nobody knew who I was yet.” (—Alexandra ‘Aya’ Karadzhova) — I couldn’t relate to this any more… I got rejected from over 200 jobs with 30% of them being digital agencies. They didn’t want to hire me back in the day so I hired myself. I used the Internet to showcase my talent, my “building” skills, my tech skills, my marketing skills and my design skills… now I get asked all the time to partake in projects. Don’t wait for anyone to tell you you’re good enough… show them.
Playlist — Deep & Soulful Jazz House DJ Mix — A great playlist from RE: Tape Studios on YouTube @retapestudios of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
Your Portfolio Builds While They're Not Watching…
The evidence is clear — greatness isn't built on viral moments or instant recognition. It's built in the quiet hours of consistent creation.
From Sinatra's 1,200 songs to Picasso's 150,000 pieces, from Jordan's daily practice to Naval's emphasis on fundamentals — they all point to the same truth: your capacity for impact grows with every piece you create, whether the world notices or not.
Don't wait for permission to create. Don't wait for validation to share. Don't wait for recognition to build.
Your portfolio grows with every creation, your expertise deepens with every project, and your impact compounds with every share.
The world might not be watching now. But they'll notice what you've built.
Now 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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Can I just say aside from all the great quotes and insights, I LOVE the Playlists. 😊 Thanks for another weekly rundown.
Thank you! 🤍