Your Role Isn't To Conform to What Exists... It's To Create What Doesn't
10 thoughts, ideas & creative finds on starting, being known for something and your biggest financial decisions
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The Rundown 15: Starting Matters More Than Being Ready…
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
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 your role in this lifetime — “Your role isn't to conform to what exists. It's to create what doesn't.” (—) — Don’t look to what everyone else is doing, unless its to make it better and different. What comes through you is far more powerful than what comes outside you. We’re here to contribute… our value, our acquired skill sets, our unique perspectives, our individual talents… don’t lose them on conformity… use them to create a world in which we all benefit.
On doing things for more than just money — “I never did it for the money. I think money is a wonderful thing because it enables you to do things. It enables you to invest in ideas that don’t have a short term payback and things like that. But, especially at that point in my life, it was not the most important thing… it was the company, the people, the products we were making, what we were going to enable people to do with these products.” (—Steve Jobs) — Once you stop chasing ideas as a means to make money and start chasing them as a means to contribute value, you’re whole view on money will shift… from something you need to something you can use. I say this because there’s a very different energy when you choose to solve a deep problem, desire or need for society versus simply how you can make a lot of money. The irony is, if you solve something truly deep for society, you’ll be rewarded regardless… and that’s the basis for Steve Jobs’ statement. The money will come and it will be used to do even more. We’re simply a conduit not a hoarder of cash.
On owning a problem others need solved — “You have to own a problem in the mental real estate of every person you interact with. When they have that problem, they think of you.” (—Donald Miller, founder StoryBrand) — This pairs well with #2 above from Steve Jobs. Care more about what you want to solve for others (and hopefully based off your own experience of what you’ve done for yourself) and the opportunities will be limitless. For example, one of the recent products I’m building is a NOTION Operating System to help manage everything from idea capture and creative output to project/product management and income tracking… why? Because the overwhelm and burnout is real with most creatives, entrepreneurs, artists and makers alike. Over organizing, over analyzing and operating in too many softwares and tabs is literally burning many people out… so, I decided to simplify this process since its what I was already doing for myself. Whatever it is you are passionate about, master it. And in your mastery, you’ll find others need some form of what you learned… give it to them and be the person they can rely on. *SIDE NOTE — if you’re interested in the tool I’m building, join the waitlist here - CLICK HERE
On cultivating more creativity — “Write down 10 ideas every single day… not just good ideas, any ideas… your creativity grows with practice. Create space for deep focus. No distractions, no multi-tasking, just pure time for your mind to wander and connect.” — I thought this video from sei on Instagram was a great reminder that creativity doesn’t have to come from inspiration, but dedication. What I mean is, I set aside 1-2 hours every day for “creative time.” During those hours I explore, research, read, write, design, think, review… you name it. What inevitably happens is daily creativity. It’s like a muscle I train everyday. I don’t wait for inspiration… I set myself up for it to come in immediately every single day. Try scheduling that time for yourself on your calendar this week, stick to it and see what happens.
On your your biggest financial decisions — “Your biggest financial decisions have nothing to do with money.” — On a recent podcast, I spoke about where our most important financial decisions come from, why our habits are dictating more of our finances than we may realize, how energy depletion works against our abundance, why our partnership dynamic either multiples or divides our income and more — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On having a vision for yourself and sticking to it — “I lost my father… he was living for racing and he loved seeing me racing. As soon as he passed away, I asked myself what will he want me to do and I had no doubt.” (—Charles Leclerc) — We never really know when that vision comes to us, but once it does, we’re never the same. That’s… at least… been my experience. I believe a vision is placed upon us for many reasons… to have purpose, to have direction, to have something that grows us in the process, to solidify our faith, to trust our walk, to remember what we’re here to do. I know it would be easier for us to follow society’s idea of what we should be focusing on, but greatness comes from our soul and not doing what everyone else is doing. It’s okay to be different… in fact, it’s your birthright. When your vision has you, let it.
On performance versus practice — “Ask yourself what you like to perform versus what you actually like to practice. The catch is that you can’t answer the question without trying things.” (—Anu Atluru) — I’ve talked a lot about practice versus performance recently… “creativity is a practice, not a performance” (upcoming essay on this). Whatever you want to spend the most time on should be the things you can see yourself consistently in practice of. And you can’t know this without giving things you do time, effort and energy. In time, you’ll find some things taught you and you need to move on, and other things are transcendent and will be a part of your life’s work… but both will contribute to your greater mission.
On titles being a made-up process — “CEO, CFO… these titles don’t mean a lot. You know that there’s actually only 3 titles that actually mean anything for a corporation. It’s president, secretary and treasurer, and technically they can be the same person. And all of these other chief-whatever-officer are just basically made up.” (—Elon Musk) — Between years of consulting with big brands and years of being an entrepreneur, I can offer you the same opinion as Elon. I have found that titles and accolades make for good branding, but really don’t mean anything without merit, integrity and good work ethic. Somewhere along the lines titles were made up to distinguish a level of respect and authority and I believe in 2 things… 1.) God has the authority, and 2.) respect is earned through character and work ethic… both of which don’t require titles for.
On never waiting to start — “Perfection is the enemy of progress. Ironically, waiting for the “perfect” moment only guarantees you’ll miss every moment.” (—diewithoutregretss on Instagram) — I found this post on Instagram that said, “Ships that wait for the perfect winds never sail. Farmers who wait for the perfect weather never plant. Writers who wait for the perfect words never write. Athletes who wait for the perfect conditions never train. Entrepreneurs who wait for the perfect plan never do business.” — Start by starting… that is the only advice you really need… the rest you’ll figure out.
Playlist — Jazz House DJ Set — A great playlist from Jose Acosta on YouTube @jacostaa_music of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
Your Role Isn't To Conform to What Exists... It's To Create What Doesn't
Authentic creation trumps passive conformity.
When we strip away the excess — the obsession with titles, the wait for perfect conditions, the chase for money alone – we're left with what truly matters: our unique ability to contribute something new to the world.
This isn't just about being different for difference's sake. It's about recognizing that your greatest value lies in what only you can bring forth.
Whether it's solving problems others haven't tackled, practicing creativity daily even when inspiration feels distant, or pursuing a vision that others might not yet understand — your role is to create what's missing, not replicate what already exists.
Steve Jobs didn't build Apple by chasing dollars, and Charles Leclerc didn't find his purpose by following the crowd. They, like so many others who've made lasting impacts, understood that meaningful creation comes from a deeper place — from owning problems that need solving, from dedicated practice rather than mere performance, from financial decisions rooted in values rather than just numbers.
The world doesn't need another copy. It needs your original. Start before you're ready, create before you're certain, and remember – your role isn't to fit into the existing puzzle, but to create the pieces that have always been missing.
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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I love the 10 Ideas method so much that I created a notebook for it!
https://www.amazon.com/Ideas-Book-Brainstorm-problem-solve-beautiful/dp/B0DRBH78FM/ref=sr_1_1?