Seth MacFarlane (creator: Family Guy) is a creative. Whether you like his taste or his aesthetic, he definitely is a creative pro. And he is mind-bogglingly rich because of it.  

Well, because of it and the fact that he has recognized the value of his own creativity and has fought for it every step of the way.

And he’s not afraid to let the “money” know what he really thinks. For example, during the writers’ strike (and this was before his huge deal with FOX), FOX finished an episode of Family Guy without his final creative input (and he withheld making the voices, in solidarity with the strikers). When they announced they would air it, MacFarlane said, “It would just be a colossal dick move if they did that.” That takes some guts to do! Yet even after speaking his mind (and, it should be noted, still being respectful of individuals with whom he worked at FOX), he got a reported 7-figure deal with FOX. Huzzah!

Now he has cut another groundbreaking deal. This time, he will be creating content for Google to distribute directly. Brilliant on his part–it give him an outlet where the FCC can’t censor him and creates yet another revenue stream (and a big one at that). Also, note in the linked article how advertisers will be integrated into the work. While the last bit bothers me on one level–I think ads and content should be clearly separate, personally–from a business perspective, it’s a very strong idea on his and Google’s part to offer the integration.

Kinda makes you think. 

Maybe the trick to all this is creating unique work and believing in it enough to fight for it, even when it’s harder than hell to do. Respecting your creativity and thus creative work is the foundation of your business.

Do any of you think for a second that MacFarlane would be anywhere near as successful if he changed his creative vision to make it what others had (probably repeatedly) told him it should be?