Review

Russ had released 10 albums and 80 singles before he broke into the mainstream. He changed his strategy to putting out a single a week – and it helped him break through. Here’s what I found incredible about his story:

1. Grit → he kept going for years without getting any traction
2. Work Ethic → the consistency and sheer volume of work produced
3. Tactics → regular releases was a novel approach that seems well suited to how people discover music today

This book is short and insight dense. It was well worth a read for me because I’ve been so interested in his story since I first heard about it.

It turns out that Kanye-style unshakable confidence is the driving factor behind his success (”I’m the best in the world at this S***” type of confidence). That together with a relentless work ethic (he got 10,000 hours in quickly). He didn’t just work hard though, being a student of his industry helped him succeed.

Key Takeaways

The 20% that gave me 80% of the value.

• Find something you’re passionate about and pursue it. Start where you find joy, follow your curiosity.
• Russ needed delusional self belief to get through 10 years of sounding terrible. Russ attributes his success to his confidence
• 3 things you need to make it
  • Delusion → can give you faith when there’s nothing that indicates you should believe
  • Persistence → gives you the strength to keep going
  • Gratitude → to appreciate all that you have → positive energy begets success
• Imagine yourself successful → put in the work→ make progress and build belief
• Confidence is a choice.
• Defeating your own self doubt is the biggest obstacle to overcome
  • Doesn’t acknowledge his failures as such, treats them as stepping stones.
• He made public declarations before they were true. Tweeted “$1m a beat” in 2011.
• Everything is unrealistic – until it isn’t
• Don’t seek outside validation, the belief needs to come from within you
• He thought on any given day he could wake up and be a star. Get delusional.
• Turn belief into action – don’t defer your dreams with self doubt
• Trust the what, fuck the when. You can’t put a deadline on success. You must detach from the when. If you’re too attached to the when, you’re fighting the universe.
• He loved the work so much that he lost track of time (a number of years). Time wasn’t real.
• Play for the love of the game – fuck the points (accolades, money, etc). If you play for points you’ll get rich and stop trying. You need limitless enthusiasm.
• Don’t let people who’ve given up on their dreams crush yours. It doesn’t matter if others don’t think your choice is credible, practical or lucrative
• Passion is magnetic. Surround yourself with passionate people and everyone’s energy and success starts to inspire each other. Choose those around you wisely.
• Always knew I had to put in work, always knew this was going to work
• Dreams only work if you do
• There’s somebody who wants what you do – and they’re working harder than you are
• Others might be further ahead and have more talent – out work and out believe them.
• Friends left his group having lost faith, they were more talented but were focused on the when.
• Pull the trigger, leaps of faith are essential, embrace the fear.
• Never stop being a student of your game. Study your ecosystem, everything and everyone. You can’t expect to succeed if you don’t know what worked and didn’t work for people before you.
• Captain your own ship, own the means of operation. Building his own studio meant the lights were always on.
• Self reliance is a survival technique – Russ was writer, producer, wrapper, video producer, marketer. Freedom was power – when you’re not dependent on anyone to make a song you can constantly create. “I could go downstairs and make a whole album without picking up the phone”.
• You need time alone – to work on yourself and your craft.
• Don’t lose yourself in the arena of comparison.
• Live in a state of urgency. Move with purpose. Try to make things happen now. Don’t put it off – stop waiting. Do it now. Don’t procrastinate. Understand the power of a minute.
• There’s always more to do – move with purpose. Don’t be content – make better things.
• The future version of yourself should be your inspiration
• Don’t wait to arrive at success – the journey is success.
• Get on your own side. It should be me vs the world (not me vs me)
• The journey starts and ends with you.

His Journey in a Nutshell

• Started making music at 14, dropped out of school at 17.
  • Created a studio in basement – made songs to play at school the next day
  • Made 1000 loops on GarageBand
• Spent 10 years releasing music in anonymity – channeling delusional self belief
  • He thought on any given day he could wake up and be a star
  • First YouTube video got 50 views overnight → made him determined to succeed
• Parents were supportive – got by making $20 a month from uploaded songs for years
• Some of his friends were more talented, they didn’t stick it out, he was one of the last to start rapping.
• Didn’t sign with a label, but viewed offers as a sign he was on the right path
• Had a map of everyone in the industry on the wall – they were students of the ecosystem.
• Switched from making albums to putting out a song a week, each with it’s own artwork. Did that for a year and blew up
• TuneCore earnings: June 2015 $600 → June 2016 $102,000
• Learnt to do everything, the whole process end to end. Was told it would take 2 months to make a video, so he took on the work and shot 6 videos in the same day.