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Choosing a Niche Can Feel Like Life or Death

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Choosing a Niche Can Feel Like Life or Death

Until you realize the Niche is You

Matt Gottesman
Sep 19, 2022
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Choosing a Niche Can Feel Like Life or Death

www.wearepermissionless.xyz

New here? Click HERE for why I’m doing this weekly letter.
Need to catch up?

  • The Rate of Return is Always Smallest When You Follow the Crowd

  • The Most Underrated Form of Intimacy is Telling the Truth

  • True Wealth is Health Coupled With Freedom

  • One of the Most Valuable & Underrated Skills… Consistency

  • Your Purpose is Not UNCERTAIN, You Are

In the words of Rick Rubin,

We are born artists… and then society does its best to beat it out of us.

When we’re young, the educational system, and society at large, asks us the proverbial question…

What do you want to be when you grow up?

And children, being closest to themselves and connected to their souls, often say things that society, teachers and even some parents think is unusual or hard to comprehend.

Why?

Because society has a habit of forgetting that each individual has their own unique path complete with gifts and talents… that you cannot simply put each person onto the same track with the same education and the same ideologies and expect the same outcome…

What you can expect from that type of thinking is that the kids often grow up to be adults who feel disconnected from themselves no matter how much they’ve achieved in the physical world and wonder why they gave up other passions, skillsets or talents they inevitably knew were right for them.

When you’re young, they tell you to pick a niche (a path).

Now here’s the irony.

“They” want you to pick a “reliable” path, which will require getting a “secure” job but only after you’ve gotten the “right” education.

Then, you’re out there in the world and they say “I don’t know, but you’ll figure it out.”

And this is why it’s so important to promote tapping into your gifts and your soul at such an early age… and to those of us who are older, why we must return to who we really are.

The niche is you, period.

So, what does that mean and how do we apply that to our modern day selves…

our creativity, or entrepreneurship,

or building a brand, or expressing our art,

or anything else we want to serve the world?

Well, first of all, sooner or later you’re going to have to choose yourself… and in doing so, not limit yourself to society’s labels or titles.

In business, yes, it’s great to have a specific group of people to focus on so you are clear as to exactly what and how you are serving them.

In life, just remember that you’re more than one thing and you’re going to explore the infinite possibilities that your soul came here to do.

So, how do we combine infinite possibilities with clarity, focus and direction?

How do we honor the “niching” with flexibility to explore… especially because we are multi-faceted, multi-talented creators.

Well, other than publicly creating content and exploring business, spirituality, mindset, systems, philosophy and writing these past 8 years online in order to express myself…

…I spent the past 3-4 months doing something different than my podcast and Instagram audience knows me to do… I took to Twitter and I discovered creators I was unaware of, whom I’ve since supported, learned from or connected with.

Here are some commonalities and learnings from those months that I found…

  1. We use art (content such as writing, video, visuals and other means) to express a variety of topics of interest.

  2. They look for “signals” (points of engagement that stood out more than others) from their audience.

  3. Signals allow us to expand ourselves, not contract us. We don’t niche ourselves but expand on our thoughts, interests and lives, while connecting deeper with our art and the people who engage with us.

  4. Every single creator is multi-faceted because building your life is multi-faceted. One minute you’ll see someone talk about copywriting and landing pages, the next they’ll talk about ice baths, productivity scheduling and human performance. Simply put, to master our interests, we must master ourselves.

  5. We build vast audiences from helping others. When we serve others, we find new areas about ourselves we might not have previously known or had as deep of an understanding.

  6. In the words of online creator Justin Welsh

Choosing a niche makes you a commodity. Choosing an obsession makes you the only. When you start by embracing your obsessions, you rarely need any other external motivation.

You wake up each day with an intense desire to become the best in your specific obsession. That’s when your work ethic, desire, and discoveries become un-copyable. This is your moat.

-Justin Welsh

So, to that, I thought it would help to share several creators and their multiple obsessions, as well as their “focuses” so you can see they’ve become the niche and instead of conforming to one.👇🏼

Becoming the “Only” Instead of a “Commodity”

The creators and entrepreneurs below represent a vastly growing online trend… 1-4 person businesses… people who have chosen to be their own niche simply by sharing with the world their obsessions, growth, character building, skillsets and talents.

They represent a multitude of ages and backgrounds, but they all fundamentally believe in living out loud their purpose, their art and their personal development all while being of service.

*Note, these are my personal observations of them… I’ll include their social media links so you can follow them and learn more.

Zach Pogrob

Twitter: @zachpogrob
Instagram: @behaviorhack

Obsessions…

  • Following your obsession

  • Documenting the building of life and business

  • Productivity, discipline and clarity

  • Health, mindset and physical activity

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST

Justin Welsh

Twitter: @thejustinwelsh
Instagram: @thejustinwelsh
LinkedIn: /in/justinwelsh
Newsletter: justinwelsh.me

Obsessions…

  • Service businesses and building in public

  • Using systems to create and build a business… and your life

  • Audience growth, using social media effectively

  • Minimalism, essentialism, time, discipline and family

Twitter avatar for @thejustinwelsh
Justin Welsh @thejustinwelsh
You aren't rewarded for hard work. You're rewarded for creating something of value. So don't work unnecessarily hard on something that you haven't validated people want. Instead, run small experiments over & over again until you have a few strong outcomes. Then double down.
12:15 PM ∙ Sep 19, 2022
1,776Likes249Retweets

Dan Koe

Twitter: @thedankoe
Instagram: @thedankoe
Newsletter: thedankoe.com

Obsessions:

  1. Digital economics and business

  2. Human potential and philosophy

  3. Creative work, writing, exploring curiosity

  4. Life design

Twitter avatar for @thedankoe
DAN KOE @thedankoe
The whole “focus on one thing” has always confused me. One skill? One skill stack? One goal? One life? Everyone that has the results I want has gotten good at everything that is required to get those results. (Which is often hundreds, if not thousands of small things)
9:17 PM ∙ Sep 15, 2022
277Likes33Retweets

John Franklin

Twitter: @johnisbuilding

Obsessions:

  1. Simplicity in business

  2. Real life biz advice

  3. Having a better relationship with time

  4. Leadership, building in public, self-awareness

Twitter avatar for @JohnIsBuilding
John Franklin @JohnIsBuilding
I don't want productivity advice from a 23-year-old dude with no real-life obligations. The real experts in time management are working moms that run a business, manage a household, and raise good kids.
1:31 PM ∙ Aug 31, 2022
470Likes44Retweets

Alex Hormozi

Twitter: @alexhormozi
Instagram: @hormozi

Obsessions:

  1. Simplifying sales and marketing

  2. Building your personal brand

  3. His relationship with his wife

  4. Business

Twitter avatar for @AlexHormozi
Alex Hormozi @AlexHormozi
If you need perfect conditions to start it means your success is conditional. If you want unconditional success, then be willing to start in under any circumstance. That includes the one you’re in right now.
4:40 PM ∙ Sep 19, 2022
1,368Likes259Retweets

Nadeem Al-Hasan

Twitter: @nadeemalhasan_
Instagram: @nadeem.alhasan
Newsletter: The Philo Letter

Obsessions:

  1. Reducing mental suffering in life and business

  2. Breathwork, meditation and God

  3. Systems & automations that scale your business and life

  4. Healthy living, exploring creativity, building community

Twitter avatar for @NadeemAlHasan_
Nadeem Al-Hasan @NadeemAlHasan_
What I thought would make me happy: -Other people -More money -New 4Runner What actually makes me happy: -Purging my belongings -Writing, reading, and creating -Downsizing my home Intrinsic rewards > status rewards.
3:48 PM ∙ Jul 26, 2022

Taylor Welch

Twitter: @taylorawelch
Instagram: @taylorawelch

Obsessions:

  1. Building companies & consulting

  2. Buying real estate & wealth creation

  3. Spending more time with family

  4. Personal development, God & human optimization

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST

Justin Scott

Twitter: @iamjustinscott
Instagram: @iamjustinscott

Obsessions:

  1. Self-actualization and mastering emotions

  2. Creativity and entrepreneurship

  3. Flow state and energy

  4. Writing & human connection

Twitter avatar for @iamjustincscott
Justin C Scott @iamjustincscott
Bringing your vision to life is a lot like sculpting The sculptor takes a block of marble, and slowly chips away at it until it matches what they see in their mind It takes time, dedication, and consistent effort But one day, you’ll have created a masterpiece
5:47 PM ∙ Sep 19, 2022
10Likes3Retweets

Dr. James DiNicolantonio

Twitter: @drjamesdinic
Instagram: @drjamesdinic

Obsessions:

  1. Health, nutrition, diet and exercise

  2. Human optimization and performance

  3. Motivation, reading and activity

  4. Creativity, productivity & sleep

Twitter avatar for @drjamesdinic
James DiNicolantonio @drjamesdinic
Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself. Think like you love yourself. Feel like you love yourself.
2:49 PM ∙ Sep 12, 2022
429Likes83Retweets

Jay Yang

Twitter: @jayyanginspires
Instagram: @jayyanginspires

Obsessions:

  1. Deconstructing marketing, psychology and storytelling

  2. Being a student and building in public

  3. Exploring creativity and community

  4. Building leverage at a young age to show others what’s possible

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST

Matt Gottesman (I had to use me as an example 😉)

Twitter: @matt_gottesman
Instagram: @mattgottesman
Newsletter: Permissionless

Obsessions:

  1. Creator economy, entrepreneurship & business dynamics

  2. Spirituality, God, perspective and human behavior

  3. Systems for growth in life and business

  4. Time, relationships, love, community

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST

Other Notable Online Creators:

  1. Dakota Robertson

  2. Roxanne Saffaie

  3. Charles Miller

  4. Codie Sanchez

  5. Jack Butcher

  6. Dickie Bush

  7. Nicolas Cole

  8. Case Kenny

  9. Robert Breedlove

  10. Jesus Jimenez

I could go on, and I will in a later letter so if you’re not on here, I still love you!

QUESTION: What’s the overarching theme above?

ANSWER: Each person is simply being themselves, doing it publicly and are more than one thing.

In short, they are the niche, they are the reason people are following them and they are constantly evolving.

Read this week’s Simplify, Multiply, Diversify below…👇🏼

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SIMPLIFY…

Don’t choose a niche. Embrace an obsession. (Justin Welsh)

Translation:

Don’t force yourself into a box. Instead, pick something you’re truly curious about, that you cannot stop thinking and you don’t mind sharing the world your progress with it.

Building your life is an obsession… or at least it should be.

When you’re genuinely curious about your health, wealth, family life, friends, activities, hobbies, art, etc., you’re basically obsessing with building and creating your life.

My friends, this is life design… this is how you use your day


MULTIPLY…

When the niche is you, your world is limitless and infinite. When you niche into the world, you are limited.

Choose yourself as the niche and you cannot lose.


DIVERSIFY…

When the niche is you, we create a lifestyle that serves us in a multitude of ways. Diversification comes from being more than one thing really well.

Your job is to figure out what you like to do, how you’d like to do it and where to spend the most optimal time doing it.

Your second job is to figure out how it all works for you. The return on life is 10x when you don’t box yourself in.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are several ways I can help…

Want no BS, 10-min or less advice that promotes your… personal growth & fulfillment, health, wealth & happiness, keeping out all the noise and un-complicates life, your creativity and the pursuit of your highest self? ➠ TEXT ME (257+ members)

Want to learn how to expand your creativity through content to reach more people w/out burning out in the process? Register ➠ Free Content Workshop

Missed mine and Nadeem’s last workshops on streamlining the efficiency of making more content without burning out? Download ➠ Pt. 1 HERE & Pt. 2 HERE

Need 1:1 digital consulting to implement systems? Book 90-min ➠ HERE


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Choosing a Niche Can Feel Like Life or Death

www.wearepermissionless.xyz
2 Comments
Monique Angelyca
Sep 26, 2022Liked by Matt Gottesman

I totally feel as though I embody the theme of this letter. I truly am my niche and it’s so multifaceted. Bridging the gap between mind, body & spirit through touch, sound & intuition. My work has quite simply been birthed through embodiment. 💚

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