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The 7 Elements of Worldbuilding for Personal Brands — Transcript

by Caleb Ralston · 4,944 words · 741 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Good morning. Right now, the best
0:02personal brands in the world are doing
0:04something that you are not. And it has
0:07something to do with your favorite
0:08movies, books, and TV shows. But today,
0:11I want to apply it to educational
0:12content. And over 17 years in building
0:15personal brands, I have never heard
0:18anyone talk about this. Let's discuss
0:20what this is, why it is so powerful for
0:23your personal brand, and then I want to
0:24walk you through the seven elements that
0:26I have [music] for you to build a world
0:29that your audience never wants to leave.
0:35And to start out, I want to look at the
0:37entertainment world. I want you to think
0:39through some of your favorite
0:40franchises. We've got Lord of the Rings,
0:42Star Wars, uh Dune, Marvel films. Let's
0:46look at Lord of the Rings for example.
0:48Uh I want to call out three different
0:50elements that make up this incredible
0:53in-depth world that Tolkien built. Now,
0:55real quick, a caveat that I have to add
0:57is this is obviously very reductive.
0:59Tolkien did a lot. I mean, he spent
1:01years building an entire language, okay?
1:04I'm just calling out three basic
1:05elements that have made up this
1:07incredible world that he has invited us
1:09into. You've got characters, settings,
1:11and magic. Characters, you got like
1:13Frodo and Samwise Gamgee, right? You
1:16have Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the the
1:18three stooges as I like to think of
1:20them. You've got all of these amazing
1:22characters that make up this world. And
1:24then we have the settings. We're in
1:27Middle-earth, but then within
1:28Middle-earth, we have the Shire. We have
1:31Minas Tirith. We have Mordor, where
1:33we're taking the ring. And then we also
1:35have magic, right? There's different
1:37elements of magic within this world that
1:40Tolkien built. You have all of these
1:42wizards, right? We have Gandalf. We have
1:46Saruman. We have Radagast, the the crazy
1:48homie running around with all his little
1:50woodland creatures. There's also other
1:52magic that makes up this world. We have
1:53the fact that elves live forever. We've
1:55got the one ring to rule them all.
1:57There's a lot of different elements that
2:00make up this incredible world of Lord of
2:02the Rings. And the cool thing about
2:04these franchises, these worlds, is once
2:07you enter them, when you re-enter, when
2:09you go to rewatch or re-enter that
2:12world, you [music] enter with context
2:15and understanding of the world that you
2:17are entering. This is world building. We
2:20understand that there is this one ring
2:23to rule them all that gives unbelievable
2:26amounts of power but comes at an extreme
2:28cost. If we were to take Spider-Man in
2:30the Marvel world as an example, we
2:32understand that the backstory involves
2:34being bitten by a radioactive spider and
2:38then having a tragic incident occur with
2:40his Uncle Ben. This is context and
2:43understanding that we have when we enter
2:46this world that they are building for
2:49us. We're not just watching these
2:51movies, we are living in a world that
2:53they have created.
2:55Now, why am I talking about the fiction
2:58and entertainment world if my normal
3:01subject matter and my subject matter
3:02expertise is around educational content?
3:05Well, it's because world building is
3:07something that does apply to building a
3:09personal brand in the education space.
3:12It's just executed much differently. It
3:15doesn't look the exact same. It's still
3:17about building a world that your
3:18audience can live in, but it's more
3:20about developing your own language and
3:23concepts, your shared definition of
3:26terms. It's about the characters that
3:29you're going to feature and have
3:30recurring in your content. It's about
3:33figuring out what are the setting that
3:35your content and your personal brand are
3:37taking place in. [music] It's being open
3:40about your weaknesses and
3:41vulnerabilities that make you more
3:43human. And when you do this well, your
3:45audience isn't just consuming your
3:47content, they start thinking in your
3:50frameworks. They start using your terms
3:53in their own content, and they end up
3:55feeling more like citizens of your world
3:58rather than casual viewers in your
4:00audience. This ends up creating loyalty
4:03not just to the content that you're
4:04making, but actually loyalty to how you
4:07see the world. Now, a question that
4:10you're probably wondering is, "Why have
4:11I never heard of world building within
4:13this context of personal branding?"
4:17I tend to believe that it is because
4:19most strategists and gurus make a hard
4:23sprint to go straight to the content
4:24strategy phase. They want to go straight
4:26to the amplification phase of this
4:28personal brand. But, I'd be willing to
4:31bet that the majority of them, when
4:32they're doing this, have very little
4:34understanding of what this personal
4:37brand stands for, what makes it
4:39different, why this person is worth
4:41listening to, and they've never done the
4:43work of constructing what this world
4:45will look like that they're going to
4:47invite the audience into. They fall into
4:50the trap of believing that the most
4:52important thing, or the only thing that
4:54they should be focusing on, is sharing
4:56useful information. Useful information
4:58is super valuable. I love doing my best
5:01to share useful information with you
5:03guys. But, if you're just providing
5:05information, and that's it, I believe
5:07there is a lot that you are leaving on
5:10the table. Because I believe your
5:11expertise does earn you trust. It really
5:15does. We we have to be an expert or have
5:18credibility on something in order for
5:20people to want to listen to us. But, I
5:22believe it takes far more than just
5:24expertise to create [music] long-term
5:27brand loyalty. Some of the elements that
5:29create loyalty and a close connection
5:31are shared language, or shared ways of
5:34viewing the world,
5:35>> [music]
5:35>> or concepts that are named that we can
5:38actually take with us. And I want to
5:41make a bet here that probably, [music]
5:44more than likely, your favorite educator
5:46or expert online has actually done this.
5:50Whether it was intentional or not, they
5:52have probably named some concepts and
5:56frameworks that you reference in your
5:58everyday life or even in the content
6:00that you're producing. They've probably
6:02redefined terms in a way that is
6:04actually useful and operational for you
6:07that has changed the way that you
6:08actually act, the way that you operate
6:11in your daily life. A lot of them have
6:13built a cast of recurring characters and
6:17settings and references that start
6:20feeling familiar the more that you watch
6:22it. I'm sure some of you who are more
6:24regular audience members here have
6:27noticed that I reference my content
6:29director Trevor Odom
6:31a lot in my content. We're building him
6:34up as a recurring character in this
6:36world that we are building to invite you
6:38into. And so over time, the more that
6:41you hear me reference Trevor, I'm
6:43noticing that people are starting to DM
6:45me asking about Trevor or making jokes
6:47in the comments referencing how Trevor
6:49was holding a camera for probably 11 12
6:52hours straight while we're walking
6:53through London. This starts to add
6:55familiarity and almost like a a
6:57nostalgic element to the world that we
6:59are building. This is world building.
7:03But just like there's a ton of different
7:05elements that make up this world that
7:07we're living in here on Earth, the same
7:10is true for your personal brand. There's
7:12many different elements that you can
7:14incorporate into building the world
7:16around your personal brand. And right
7:18now I want to walk you through or cover
7:21seven of these elements. And the first
7:24one is one of the most powerful elements
7:27in all of world building within the
7:29educational space and it's naming your
7:32concepts. [music]
7:33This is a very very powerful one that as
7:36soon as I explain it, I don't think
7:38you'll ever be able to unsee this uh, in
7:40the real world when you're going out and
7:41consuming content from different
7:43individuals. This is where you're taking
7:44something that you're already teaching.
7:47Maybe you're teaching it to your
7:48customers, your clients. Maybe it's
7:50something that you're sharing in your
7:52community. Or maybe not with anybody
7:54external, but it's internal. Maybe
7:56you're sharing it with your team,
7:57whether it's your company or your
7:58department. This is a concept, a
8:00framework, a playbook that you're
8:02already teaching. Not something that
8:04you're making up on the spot, but
8:06something that you're already teaching
8:07that you can give a [music] name to to
8:09make it easier for people to take with
8:10them. This is something that I'm doing
8:12constantly. I have the brand journey
8:14framework. I have the credibility bank,
8:16the 70-20-10 framework. These aren't
8:18random things that I just came up with.
8:20These were things that I was already
8:22teaching. I just wanted to give them a
8:24name to make it easier for the audience,
8:26for you the viewer, to be able to take
8:28it with you. The The goal is to pass the
8:30three R's. I want it to be easy to
8:32remember, repeat, and reference [music]
8:35in the future. I believe a name makes it
8:38a lot easier to reference and use in
8:41conversations and in, ideally, other
8:45people's content that they are producing
8:48and they can actually spread your
8:50message on your behalf. Think of all the
8:53frameworks and concepts that you use
8:55right now, okay, and you know the name
8:58of that you've got or learned from one
9:01of your favorite, uh, educators or
9:03experts online. Now that you see this,
9:06you won't be able to unsee it. It's
9:08everywhere. And I would encourage you to
9:10take the time. Don't just be lazy about
9:13it and just declare or walk through the
9:16framework. You need to name these things
9:17to make it easier for your audience to
9:19take it with them. Another powerful
9:21element that solves a really big pain
9:22point for people is redefined terms.
9:26Every industry, every space, every niche
9:28has these vague terms that are widely
9:31used, but nobody really knows what it
9:34means. I'm sure you can think of several
9:36within your space, right? When you take
9:39those widely used terms and often
9:42misunderstood terms, and you actually
9:44provide a clear, useful definition, you
9:47create a lens, a filter, or a way of
9:50seeing the world for your audience that
9:53then is tied back to your personal
9:56brand. For example, I've done this with
9:58branding and brand. I define branding as
10:01the pairing of things, good branding as
10:03an intentional pairing of relevant
10:06things done consistently, which then
10:08creates the byproduct brand, when the
10:10audience inherently associates the two
10:12things together. I took a term, or two
10:15terms, that are often used. People talk
10:17about branding and brand all the time,
10:19and have been for years. But everyone
10:22has defined it in this very
10:24pie-in-the-sky, amorphous, ethereal,
10:27vague way. They've talked about how it's
10:29feelings, colors, typefaces, logos,
10:33fonts, all these things, right? And what
10:35we did is actually gave people a useful
10:38definition. What I mean by useful
10:40definition, or operational definition,
10:43is [music] the definition gives you the
10:45actions that you need to take in order
10:47to get the outcome you desire. It
10:49created a new way for everyone who has
10:51heard me share that to view branding and
10:55what they need to do in order to do
10:57branding. And then when they are doing
10:59that, or thinking about that, a lot of
11:02people then are able to associate their
11:05that pairing, that association is linked
11:08to the brand that we're building. This
11:09is one of the elements in this world
11:12that we are constructing for you. These
11:14are definitions that provide clarity on
11:17what you do. These are operational
11:19definitions. And when you redefine a
11:22term in a useful way, your audience
11:24starts using your definition. One, they
11:27start actually taking action on what
11:29you're sharing. But two, a lot of times
11:31they will start making their own content
11:34referencing your redefined term and what
11:37it actually means and what it looks like
11:39to take actual action. This is a massive
11:42competitive mode that you can establish
11:45for extreme differentiation in your
11:47space. This puts you on a completely
11:49different tier and in a wildly different
11:51category than the majority of your peers
11:54or competitors. Now, I'm honestly a
11:57little afraid to admit this, but I think
11:59I'm man enough to share it. I have been
12:02scared to make content without wearing a
12:05hat. But, I wanted to provide you a meta
12:08demonstration of this next element,
12:11which is sharing your weaknesses or
12:13vulnerabilities. In the fiction world, a
12:16character becomes far more relatable,
12:18compelling, [music]
12:20and even more human when they have a
12:23clearly understood weakness or
12:26insecurity that they are dealing with. I
12:28believe the same is true outside of the
12:30fiction world and [music] is incredibly
12:32important in the personal brand
12:34education space and the world that we're
12:36trying to construct that we invite our
12:38audience into. Many of your favorite
12:40personal brands online actually do this.
12:43They have shared a vulnerable moment or
12:46a weakness that they have with you, the
12:48audience. And a lot of them, that is one
12:51of the biggest reasons why they have
12:53such a strong and loyal audience. People
12:55that are invested in them, that can
12:57relate to them because they're not the
12:59one who's posturing and pretending that
13:01everything's perfect and everything's
13:03[music] just dandy and all perfection
13:06all the time. Nobody trusts that
13:08individual in the same way that you
13:09don't trust that individual in your
13:11everyday real life. We're not going to
13:13trust that person online. I want to walk
13:15you through what a weakness looks like.
13:17I believe that it is one of three
13:20things. And at a high level, it's either
13:22a flaw, a limitation, or a cost. Let me
13:25walk you through what each one of these
13:27look like. A flaw is something that you
13:29can change, okay? So, one example here
13:33that I have is anxiety around being on
13:36camera. I'm feeling a little anxious
13:38being on camera more so than I did maybe
13:402 minutes ago, right? Uh sharing and
13:42being a little bit more vulnerable with
13:44you guys. But, what's really cool is you
13:46can change this, okay? Maybe you are
13:49anxious showing up on camera but by
13:52doing it for weeks and months over and
13:56over and over again, we can actually
13:58become comfortable and confident in
14:01doing it by taking the action. The
14:03second is a limitation. A limitation is
14:07something that you can't [music] change.
14:10You cannot change it, but you can adapt
14:12to. A really great example that I've
14:14actually seen a lot of different
14:15creators uh mention and leverage within
14:19their personal brand and the world
14:20they're building is [music]
14:21maybe you have extreme ADHD. And for
14:25your whole life that's been viewed as a
14:26weakness. Maybe it's been labeled as a
14:28weakness by doctors, by family members,
14:31friends, teachers, whatever, right?
14:33Bosses that you've had. But, you're
14:36actually, over time, maybe you're able
14:38to harness this perceived weakness into
14:41your greatest strength. And you actually
14:43use that ADHD to fuel the way that you
14:45operate and run your business or your
14:48department or the way that you pursue
14:50the passion or hobby that you have. A
14:52limitation is something that you can't
14:55change but can work around or adapt to.
14:59And the third one here is cost. And I
15:01would argue, for at least me, this is
15:03the most interesting one. A cost is what
15:05your choices, the choices that you have
15:07made, require you to give up. In the
15:11fiction world, sometimes what this looks
15:12like is a character has unlimited
15:15magical powers. Unlimited. They can do
15:17anything they want. Except for the fact
15:19that anytime they use those magical
15:21powers, one of their family members
15:23dies. Okay? That's an extreme version of
15:25this, obviously. The way this plays out
15:27in the real world is maybe you are an
15:29athlete who is completely obsessed with
15:31becoming the best in the world at your
15:34sport. You're trying to compete in the
15:36Olympics and win a gold medal. And so,
15:38everything in your life revolves around
15:40obsession over improving your craft,
15:43improving your sport. But, because of
15:45that obsession, maybe the cost is that
15:47you don't spend time with your friends
15:49and family.
15:50>> [music]
15:50>> So, you don't have relationship. The
15:52cost of your obsession in the pursuit of
15:54greatness is the lack of relationship.
15:57I've seen this with athletes, but also
15:59there's many entrepreneurs who make
16:00content online that talk about this. And
16:02this is something that you and your
16:04audience can hold in common. This is
16:07something that not only you experience,
16:09but they also experience and can relate
16:11to on a really deep emotional level. We
16:14end up connecting more deeply with
16:16people who have real weaknesses. We
16:19trust them more, and oftentimes we end
16:21up rooting for them more than the person
16:24who's pretending or posturing like
16:26everything's perfect online.
16:27Vulnerability that is real, not
16:30contrived. I'm not talking about uh when
16:32you fake cry on camera. I'm talking
16:34about real vulnerability. That creates
16:37deeper trust and loyalty than any sort
16:40of perfect personal brand ever will.
16:43Now, of course, every great world has
16:45characters and settings or places. And
16:48in fictional worlds, a lot of times the
16:50characters are either the hero or the
16:52villain, the antagonist or protagonist,
16:53right? Like, we've got Batman, we've got
16:56Saruman, we've got Sauron, Uncle Ben, we
16:59have Samwise Gamgee, and then pulling
17:02out of left field here, one of my
17:03favorites, we have the wicked stepmother
17:06from the Cinderella story, which was one
17:07of my favorites growing up. Locations
17:09are where the story now is occurring.
17:12So, we have the characters in the story,
17:14but then the locations are where this is
17:16taking place. Think, like I referenced
17:18earlier, Middle-earth or Tatooine. We
17:21also have my personal favorite, I'm a
17:22big Batman guy. I love Gotham. I think
17:25Gotham is an epic setting or environment
17:28that that Batman world, that Batman
17:31universe takes place in. And I think
17:33that the same thing here can happen with
17:35your personal brand. Let's take Gary V
17:37as an example. He had a hit series on
17:39YouTube called Daily Vee, which was his
17:41daily vlog show, which is absolutely
17:44insane that he was able to do that for
17:46so long. But within that series, he
17:48established this recurring cast of
17:51characters that we started to get
17:53attached to. I'm talking D-Rock, Babin,
17:55Mike Boyd, his brother A.J., Claude, the
17:58Chief Heart Officer at Vayner, Andrea,
18:01James, all these different amazing
18:02characters that would show up throughout
18:05the many different years that this show
18:08took place. And these weren't just
18:09random people, they were elements of
18:12Gary's real life that he brought in to
18:15the content to help establish the world
18:18that he invited us into. And what's
18:20really cool about this is a lot of times
18:22we get attached to the main character,
18:24of course, but we can find ourselves
18:26actually getting attached to one of
18:27these side or additional characters.
18:30Think about another example within the
18:32entertainment world. A show that I've
18:34recently started rewatching for probably
18:36the fifth or sixth time, The Office. A
18:38lot of us, we love Michael Scott, he's a
18:40hilarious character. But I would argue,
18:42if you've watched The Office, the
18:43majority of you probably have an
18:45additional favorite character. Maybe
18:47it's Dwight, maybe it's Pam, maybe it's
18:48Jim, maybe it's Daryl.
18:50>> Dinkin flicka.
18:51>> There's so many different options,
18:52right? But we don't just get attached to
18:55the main character, we actually find
18:57ourselves becoming attached to these
18:59side characters. There's so many
19:01different things and ways that you can
19:03borrow this strategy from the
19:05entertainment world in order to create
19:07more loyalty, more depth, more
19:09connection with your audience. A lot of
19:11people, when they're just featuring
19:12themselves in this world, they're the
19:15only character, it's a pretty
19:16one-dimensional flat world. But, by
19:19adding more characters and settings
19:22intentionally into this world, you are
19:25building one that has dimension and
19:28depth. Now, this is something that I
19:30encourage you to actually be more
19:31intentional than accidental about. I
19:33love some happy accidents. I love some
19:36Bob Ross and happy little accidents.
19:38But, in this case, I want you to be
19:40intentional about the characters and
19:43settings that you are going to feature
19:45within this world you're building. This
19:47next element is actually based off of a
19:49concept that I teach called interest
19:51stacking.
19:52>> [music]
19:53>> We're talking about your hobbies,
19:55interests, and values here. And I want
19:57you to think about some of the
19:58relationships in your life.
20:01If you were to label someone, think
20:02about like the acquaintance in your
20:04life, right? You wouldn't call them a
20:05friend, they're more of an acquaintance.
20:07Why are they an acquaintance? Well, more
20:09than likely because you only have maybe
20:12one thing in common with them, okay?
20:15But, as you begin stacking these
20:18interests, these values, these hobbies
20:21in common with people, they move closer
20:23to you on the relationship sphere. I
20:25would argue, if you were to then look at
20:27maybe a friend, not your best friend,
20:29but a friend that you have, you probably
20:31have multiple things stacked in common
20:34with them. And if you look at your best
20:36friend or your spouse, you probably have
20:39a lot in common with them. I believe
20:42that it works the same way in building
20:44your audience and establishing the world
20:47that they're going to enter. You want to
20:49give as many opportunities for your
20:52audience to get closer and feel more
20:55connected with you, not less. For
20:57example, people here in my audience, who
21:00are regularly watching the content, if
21:02you're newer here, maybe this isn't the
21:03case, but the regular viewers know that
21:06I am obsessed with my Harley Davidsons
21:09and I'm incapable of making a single
21:11piece of content without ever
21:13referencing them. I always have to
21:14include it. Or the fact that I love
21:16dancing at hardcore shows and metal
21:18shows and getting punched in the face in
21:20the pit. Or the bigger fact that this
21:22year I lost my when the Seahawks
21:25won the Super Bowl because I am a
21:27massive Seahawks fan. Or on top of that,
21:29I love trash TV. The Secret Lives of
21:32Mormon Wives this year was an incredibly
21:35scandalous and dramatic show and I love
21:38that and a lot of the audience
21:39understands and knows that. And I tend
21:41to believe that if you are interested in
21:44growing your personal brand, you're
21:46going to be interested and like my
21:49But if you are into any of those things
21:51or many of the other things that I
21:53mentioned in my content, if we have more
21:55in common, if we've stacked more
21:57interests, more hobbies, more values in
21:59common with each other, you're probably
22:01going to be really into the content that
22:03we're producing because we're not only
22:05helping you solve problems, but we also
22:08have things in common and so we get
22:10closer on the relationship sphere. And
22:12so in order for this to happen, you have
22:15to actually share these elements, okay?
22:18If you never share them, then going to
22:19know that they have it in common with
22:21you. And so you want to identify the
22:23things that are outside of your
22:25expertise
22:26>> [music]
22:27>> that make you
22:28you. And by sharing these, you give your
22:31audience more at bats, more
22:32opportunities to connect with you on a
22:34deeper level, to build that loyalty that
22:37exists outside of your expertise.
22:41Now, every world has its lore or its
22:44legends. These are the stories that are
22:46passed down and shared that inform how
22:49the world is the way it is now, how
22:52we've gotten to the point that we are at
22:54now. And in your personal brand, the
22:56lore or these legends are the stories of
23:00your successes and your failures paired
23:03with the lessons that your audience can
23:05actually use to get the outcome that
23:07they're looking for, to get the outcome,
23:09ideally, that you just achieved. And
23:12we're not just telling these stories for
23:15shits and giggles and for the fun of it.
23:17When I share the story about someone who
23:20I worked with who was chasing views and
23:22started making much wider content aiming
23:25to go viral on every single piece, and
23:27views and subscribers were going up, but
23:29at the same time, the fact that sales
23:31were actually going down,
23:33that is something where I explain the
23:36problem that occurred, the mistake we
23:38made, and the lesson that I learned. And
23:41I believe what that produces as a
23:43byproduct for the audience watching is
23:45two different learnings. One, they're
23:47learning from the actual lesson. They're
23:48like, "Okay, cool. I'm going to do my
23:50best to avoid making the mistake that
23:52Caleb made so that I don't have to
23:53repeat that [music] and learn the
23:55painful way." But the really cool part
23:57that a lot of people don't think about
23:58is number two, they're learning about my
24:01experience and expertise within this
24:04[music] field. Your learnings and your
24:06expertise doesn't just come from W's. It
24:08doesn't just come from everything going
24:09perfect. It comes from failures, scars,
24:12fuckups that you've had along the way
24:15that allow you to learn and not make
24:18that mistake again. Sometimes, these are
24:19the most heavily convicted points that
24:21we can share in our content because it
24:23still maybe stings a little bit, right?
24:26This is where we're not just sharing the
24:27highlight reel, we're sharing the highs
24:30and the lows. And this actually comes
24:32from an exercise that we like to walk a
24:33lot of our clients through, which is
24:35establishing your credibility bank. This
24:37is where you're going to store all of
24:39these legends or stories that you are
24:42going to share with your audience to
24:44help build more credibility
24:48as to why they should listen to you on
24:51this subject matter. Now, you've most
24:53likely heard this strategy in brand
24:56building called identify your common
24:59enemy. It's often in reference to the
25:02fact that humans tend to bond more over
25:05the shared hatred of something versus
25:07the shared love of something. I'm not
25:09going to make any sort of value or moral
25:11claim on that. It just is what it is.
25:14And so far this is checking out. It
25:16makes sense. It's a really good
25:17strategy. In my opinion, where this
25:19whole common enemy strategy falls apart
25:23is when people make their common enemy a
25:26specific person or company. Don't get me
25:28wrong, there are times where that is
25:30required, right? There are several
25:32different scenarios where this is valid.
25:35But for 99.9% of you watching this, this
25:38is not the case for you. And I would
25:39encourage you to avoid this at all
25:41costs. This puts you into the category
25:43that we like to call the call out
25:45creator. It's not being a contrarian
25:47creator, it's a call out creator. And I
25:51don't think this ends up helping you in
25:52the long run. In the short term, it
25:54might be a fast sprint to growth, but in
25:56the long run this will end up hurting
25:58you more than helping you. Instead of
26:00being that call out creator and
26:02identifying specific companies or
26:04individuals, we like to take the
26:07contrarian take approach. This is a
26:09concept that I teach a lot that I
26:11reference at the top of this video that
26:13we like to identify what is your
26:15contrarian take, right? And then we want
26:18to convert that into your common enemy
26:21with your audience. See, your common
26:23enemy is just your contrarian take
26:26framed a little differently. It's framed
26:29as the thing that stands in between your
26:32audience and them accomplishing their
26:34desired outcome. For me, when I came out
26:37of the gate and decided to start making
26:38content and being public online, the
26:40contrarian take that I identified is
26:43that I believe that the majority of
26:45business owners making or building their
26:48personal brand to impact their business
26:51should optimize for trust, not virality.
26:54That was my contrarian take. And then I
26:56quickly defined going viral or
26:59optimizing for virality purely as the
27:02only optimization metric as the common
27:05enemy that myself and my audience can
27:09participate and share in. And the cool
27:12thing is is when you clearly name a
27:14common enemy, your audience understands
27:16two things. They understand where you
27:18fall, what your belief is and where you
27:21actually stand. But also anyone who
27:23shares in that frustration will actually
27:25end up self-selecting into your world.
27:28The people who do agree, who do view
27:31that as an enemy, they're going to join
27:32you. And the ones who don't, they're
27:34going to stay away. And that is a good
27:36thing. You want this self-selection
27:39method or strategy to help in
27:41establishing this world. See, a
27:43contrarian take is around your belief.
27:45But a common enemy is about giving
27:48something that your audience can rally
27:49around together. Both of these things
27:53are essentially communicating the same
27:54thing. [music] But the difference is is
27:56that the enemy, the common enemy, makes
27:58it something that you and your audience
28:01can participate in together. It can take
28:04something that starts as just a belief
28:06and actually turn it into a movement.
28:09You now have the seven most crucial
28:11elements to building your personal brand
28:13world. Click here to watch my unfiltered
28:16advice on your personal brand.

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