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Hey Everyone,
Within the last year we kicked off The Niche Is You community — a place to clear the noise, refine your work, build more intentionally and create with conviction.
If you want to connect deeper — a true algorithm-free space — come join our ever growing room of 330+ creatives, entrepreneurs, writers, makers and path builders from around the world. You’ll get instant access to our private group chat, quarterly challenges & workshops, our weekly LIVE gatherings & conversations (plus special guests), and exclusive in-person events on the way. Would love to have you in the room.
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 which voice you allow to lead your life — “You can choose a life that’s “expected” or you can choose the one that’s yours.” (—Matt Gottesman) — If you want an aligned life... a life that genuinely feels like your own... sooner or later you're going to have to learn the difference between external approval and internal knowing. I've found that some of the biggest shifts in my life didn't begin with certainty… but with a feeling I couldn't shake… an idea that kept returning… a direction that continued pulling at me even when it didn't make sense on paper. That's the interesting thing about intuition. It rarely shouts. It simply stays. Over time, the things that keep returning are often worth paying attention to. Not every impulse deserves action, but the deeper callings have a way of remaining long after the noise has moved on.
On why the future belongs to people who build before they’re chosen — “Because what you build is one thing that they cannot manufacture, which is genuine human connection at scale” (—Tiffany Lauren Jones on IG) — One of the biggest shifts happening right now isn’t technological… it’s structural. For a long time, the path looked the same for almost everyone: get permission, earn credibility, access distribution, then maybe build an audience… but that sequence has quietly flipped. Today, people can build trust, community and distribution before anyone gives them permission to do so. That’s why I’ve spent years talking about The Niche Is You. Not because everyone needs to become a creator, but because we’re moving into an era where people are realizing that their perspective matters, their experiences matter, their story matters and their body of work matters. What used to be hidden behind institutions can now be shared directly with the people it’s meant to serve. The audience isn’t the goal. The trust is. The content isn’t the product. The relationship is. What’s interesting is that institutions haven’t disappeared. They’re adapting. Many are now looking to creators, founders and individuals because they’re searching for something they can’t manufacture internally: genuine human connection, trust and community. That’s why I believe the future belongs to people who build before they’re chosen. Not because they’re chasing attention, but because they’re willing to create value long before anyone tells them to.
On why sometimes the answer is simply remembering who you are— “Remember who you are.” (—Lewis Hamilton video below from Calum Johnson on IG) — What stood out to me about this story wasn’t that Lewis Hamilton won again. It was that even someone operating at the highest level can forget who they are for a moment… a bad season, a setback, a stretch where nothing seems to click. It happens to all of us. The interesting thing is that most of the time, the answer isn’t becoming someone new… it’s remembering what was true before the doubt arrived. I’ve found that confidence is rarely built by convincing yourself you’re capable. It’s usually restored by reconnecting with the evidence that you already are. Take time to look at the experiences you’ve lived, the obstacles you’ve overcome, the work you’ve put in, the person you’ve become along the way. That’s why I loved the fan yelling, “Remember who you are.” Because sometimes that’s exactly what we need. Not more information or another strategy. Just a reminder that a difficult season doesn’t erase who you’ve been, what you’ve built or what you’re capable of creating next.
On why not every decision should be measured by what it gives you — (—Josh H Bair on Instagram) — Some of the best decisions look irrational when viewed through the lens of short-term gain. Jalen Brunson had an opportunity to maximize his earnings, but instead he chose a path that gave his team more flexibility to build around a bigger vision. Whether you’re talking about basketball, business or life, that’s a rare kind of thinking. Most people are focused on extracting the most from the moment. The people building something lasting are often focused on positioning. That’s what stood out to me. He wasn’t simply making a financial decision. He was making an alignment decision. He understood that not every opportunity should be evaluated by what it immediately gives you… and that some opportunities should be evaluated by what they make possible. I’ve found that many of the biggest breakthroughs in my own life came from decisions that didn’t optimize for the present moment. They optimized for the future I was trying to build. A smaller opportunity that created more freedom. A slower path that created more sustainability. A decision that made less sense on paper but felt more aligned in practice. The longer I do this, the more I believe that alignment is often a better compass than optimization. Getting more isn’t always the answer. Sometimes the real opportunity is positioning yourself for what comes next.
On why money was never the enemy of the work — “Money isn't the enemy of devotion. Neglect is.” (—Matt Gottesman) — For a long time, we've been taught to separate creativity from commerce, as if the moment money enters the conversation the work somehow becomes less pure. However, I've come to see it differently. The real threat to great work isn't money… it's the inability to sustain the work long enough for it to reach its full potential. Whether you're an artist, writer, entrepreneur, creator or builder, there comes a point where devotion requires structure… it requires stewardship… it requires finding a way for the work to support the life that's supporting the work. Money was never meant to replace purpose. It was meant to help sustain it. The goal isn't to chase money at the expense of the work. It's to build a model where the work can continue to exist, evolve and serve others for years to come — My latest podcast on this can be found here (APPLE, SPOTIFY)
On freedom is one of the most misunderstood forms of wealth — "One of the most overlooked forms of wealth is having complete ownership of your time.” (—Frank Have Mercy on IG) — A true realization is that wealth isn’t just about money. It’s about ownership… ownership of your decisions, of your priorities, of how you spend your days. That’s why I’ve always been drawn to building a life where I have the freedom to create, think, write, build and spend time with the people I love on my own terms… including inside this community. What I appreciated about Frank’s perspective is that he doesn’t romanticize it. Freedom sounds great until you realize it comes attached to responsibility. Nobody is coming to tell you what to do. Nobody is making sure you show up. Nobody is carrying the consequences for your decisions. The tradeoff for freedom is accountability… and maybe that’s what makes it valuable. Freedom isn’t the absence of responsibility… it’s the willingness to carry it. At the end of the day, our lives are built one day at a time. And there’s something incredibly powerful about having a say in how those days are spent.
On why what you're building matters more than what you're against — “People want to know what they're saying yes to.” (—MUD\WTR Founder) — This is such an important realization and something I’ve always tried to promote. Most of us can clearly articulate what we’re against… the systems that don’t work… the habits we want to leave behind… the things we no longer believe… but eventually, there comes a point where that isn’t enough. People want to know what you’re building. What you’re creating. What you’re inviting them into. I’ve always felt this way about The Niche Is You. Yes, there are parts of the old paradigm that I think are breaking down. The obsession with fitting into a box. The dependence on gatekeepers. The idea that you need permission before you begin. But my focus has never been on fighting those things… it’s been on helping people build something different. A life that’s more aligned. Work that feels more honest. A business built around their gifts. A community built around trust, creativity and contribution. The strongest movements aren’t sustained by what they oppose. They’re sustained by the future they’re helping people see. At some point, the conversation has to move from what you’re leaving behind to what you’re stepping into. That’s where real momentum begins.
On why expression will always outlast performance — “You’re art producing from your soul so the world can experience you.” (—Matt Gottesman) — The longer I’ve been creating, the more I’ve realized that people can feel the difference between something made to perform and something made to express. One is constantly looking over its shoulder, trying to anticipate what the audience wants. The other is rooted in something deeper like a perspective, a conviction, a curiosity or a truth that feels worth sharing whether it reaches ten people or ten million. That doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t matter. It means they can’t be the starting point. Some of the work that’s resonated most throughout my life came from the moments I stopped trying to manufacture a reaction and focused on saying what felt true. That’s why I’ve never believed we’re here to become content factories. We’re here to create from our experiences, our observations, our gifts and our relationship with the world around us. The audience may discover the work, but purpose is what gives the work its life.
On why mastery has a different kind of presence — (Video below of Eric Gales & Red Hands Band on IG) — I was watching Eric Gales play recently (see video below) and what struck me wasn’t just the talent… it was the presence. You can feel when someone has given their life to a craft… not a few years or a season… but decades. There’s a depth that starts to emerge when the work is no longer something you do, but something you’ve become inseparable from. What’s interesting is that a lot of people are discovering Eric now through social media, viral clips and increased visibility but the mastery didn’t arrive with the attention. The attention arrived after decades of devotion and I think that’s an important distinction. We live in a world that often celebrates the moment someone gets discovered while overlooking the thousands of days that made discovery possible in the first place. With Eric, you’re witnessing a relationship between a person and their craft that has been refined over a lifetime… and there’s something about that kind of devotion that people can feel, even if they can’t always explain it… *(Note, watch till the end)
Playlist — DEEP HOUSE GROOVES | Warm Basslines & Jazz Touches for Quiet Hour — A great playlist from Marius Barcena via Deephoria_Sessions on YouTube of Chill House to work to… great for creating, designing, writing, computer work.
For a long time, I thought the biggest decisions in life were about choosing between good and bad.
However, I’ve come to believe they’re usually about choosing between what looks right and what feels right.
Not impulsive, or emotional or reckless… but aligned.
The more creators I connect with, the more I notice that the individuals who build lives they genuinely love aren’t necessarily making the most obvious decisions.
They’re making the decisions that keep them connected to who they are, what they value and what they’re trying to build.
Sometimes that means taking less now to create more later.
Sometimes it means trusting a direction before there’s evidence.
Sometimes it means choosing freedom over comfort, expression over performance, devotion over attention or a long-term vision over short-term optimization.
None of those choices are guaranteed… but neither is living disconnected from yourself.
That’s why so many of the ideas this week kept pointing back to the same place. Whether we’re talking about work, money, creativity, business, relationships or purpose, the question underneath all of it remains remarkably similar:
What are you building your life around?
Because eventually, every decision becomes a vote for that answer.
And over time, those votes become your life.
The niche is you.
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. ↙️
The SOVERN Stack — The tools I actually use to run a sovereign creative business.
A lot of you ask me about my setup… so here’s a majority of the lineup — what’s actually running underneath my writing, podcast and my ecosystem. A few of these are affiliate or referral links, but only tools I’d recommend regardless make the list.
Substack — Where you’re reading this. [Start your own →]
Notion — My second brain. Everything I build lives here. [Try Notion →]
Captivate — Where I host the podcast. [Try Captivate →]
Kajabi — How I run our upcoming cohorts. [Try Kajabi →]
Framer — Where I build every site in my ecosystem. [Try Framer →]
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