PERSONAL BRANDING

1h 16m 14 min read 66,518

Personal Branding Is Not What You Think

Chris Do explains why true personal branding is an inward journey of self-acceptance, not an outward strategy for making money.

Chris Do

Founder, The Futur™ · September 16, 2025

Watch on YouTube →

Become a Member →

Stop Manufacturing a Brand. Start Discovering Yourself.

Most personal branding advice is a trap. It promises influence but delivers a script. You are told to pick five content pillars, pepper in a client success story, and never forget the call to action. The result is a carefully constructed persona with clear commercial intent, where even the most heartfelt stories end with a figurative, or literal, order form.

It has the whiff of a transaction. A personal conversation that abruptly pivots to a sales pitch, leaving the audience feeling used.

Chris Do, founder of The Futur, offers a different path. It is not a strategy of manufacturing. It is a process of discovery. For Do, personal branding is not about crafting a marketable image. It is about understanding who you are, accepting who you are, and expressing your truest self. It’s an inward journey that produces an outward magnetism no sales funnel can replicate.

This approach was born from his own experience as a self-described introvert and graphic designer who once found public speaking terrifying. The shift began after he discovered Aaron Draplin, a designer whose charisma defied industry norms. Draplin, a large man in a trucker cap and jeans, built a massive following not by being the world’s best designer, but by being relentlessly and endearingly himself.

Watching Draplin’s 2011 TEDxPortland talk, Tall Tales From a Large Man, was a revelation for Do. Draplin takes the stage and says, “My name is Aaron James Draplin. I’m 39 years old and I’m doing everything I can to make it in the little leagues.” The honesty was disarming. “Who does that?” Do recalls thinking. “Who tells you how old they are and who tells you your middle name?”

Draplin wasn't projecting an aspirational brand. He was sharing his reality. This transparency sparked a question for Do: “Why have I been hiding all this time? Why aren’t I as transparent to the outside world that I am with my friends, with my staff, with my team?” That question launched a two-year journey of self-exploration that became the foundation of his entire philosophy.

The Authenticity Gap

Authenticity has become a meaningless buzzword. Everyone agrees it’s important, but few can define it beyond a vague sense of “being real.” Do offers a more precise and actionable definition drawn from the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

Jung proposed that we all have a persona and a shadow self. The persona is the version of ourselves we present to the world to be liked, accepted, and loved. It is a mask shaped by social norms and expectations, learned from the moment our parents told us not to stare or say rude things. Society requires a persona. We take showers, brush our teeth, and don't show up to meetings in messy sweatpants.

The shadow, conversely, holds the parts of ourselves we hide, the aspects that carry shame and guilt. The ego acts as a regulator, deciding which parts of us to show and which to conceal. Somewhere in this process, Do argues, “we kind of lose a sense of who we really are.”

Authenticity, in this framework, is not about having no filter. It is about closing the distance between your persona and your true self.

Authenticity is the gap that exists between these two points.

The goal is not to eliminate the gap entirely, an impossible feat. The person eating Cheetos on their couch is the “real you,” but that’s not who shows up for a client meeting. The work is to make that gap as small as possible. The challenge isn't to be perfectly unfiltered; it's to be consciously and consistently more yourself. As he explains, this is a core principle discussed in most expert personal branding advice.

This, of course, comes with risk. The more you reveal your true values and backstory, the more you draw a line in the sand. “I’m not for everybody and it’s okay,” Do states. For a volatile, up-and-coming business, this can be frightening. Elon Musk’s public statements, for example, both attract new followers and repel longtime fans of Tesla. “The more you say, the more you’re going to draw people to you, and you’re going to repel others, and that’s the whole point.”

Some argue for a sense of “responsibility of speech,” carefully editing every word to avoid offense. Do pushes back against this, suggesting that the culture of caution has gone too far. “I think we start to edit ourselves a little bit too much,” he says. “I would rather have all of you who are interested in this practice a little bit more of radical candor than to be so careful.”

The result of over-editing is bland, sanitized content where the author's point of view is completely lost. He advocates for putting your genuine thoughts out there, even if they are occasionally misunderstood. When that happens, the solution is to trust your track record. One misstep should not negate years of sincere work. “You’re only as good as your last piece of work. No, you’re not,” Do insists. “Because you’re saying I must prove myself from now until I’m in the grave. That doesn’t make sense to me.”

The Three Pillars of a Magnetic Brand

So, how does one begin this inward journey? When asked what first step an aspiring personal brand builder should take, Do’s answer is surprising: “Go to therapy. Learn about who you are.”

He argues that you cannot express your truest self if you don’t know who that is. Inner conflict reads between the lines of your content. If you are not at peace with yourself, your audience will feel that dissonance and disengage. This inner work, he says, is what separates fleeting content from a lasting personal brand.

This work cultivates three essential ingredients that Do has observed in every magnetic person he admires.

Self-Acceptance. This is more powerful than mere self-awareness. It’s one thing to know your flaws; it’s another to accept them fully. People who have achieved this are comfortable in their own skin. They aren’t trying to prove anything. “They love themselves so much that they leave room for you to be you,” Do explains, “which is an incredible thing.”
Self-Confidence. This is not the braggadocio and arrogance often mistaken for it. True self-confidence is the quiet belief that you have the internal tools and resources to solve any problem that comes your way. It is an internal state of preparedness, not an external display of possessions.
True Vulnerability. To be truly strong, you must be comfortable with what makes you weak. Vulnerability is the willingness to put your unvarnished self on display, flaws and all, without apology. It is the ultimate act of self-acceptance made public.

These are not tactics. They are states of being. An interviewer pointed out the connection to ancient wisdom, like the 5,200-year-old Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, and its principles of being, doing, and having. The modern obsession with personal branding focuses on the *doing* (What do I post?) and the *having* (How many followers can I get?). Do’s philosophy is a return to *being*. It is a recognition that who you are is the foundation for everything you do and will ever have.

Building these qualities is the real work, a journey of self-discovery that the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus famously called the most difficult thing in the world: to know thyself. And according to Thales, the easiest? To give advice.

Performance vs. Brand: The Two Games You Can Play

The world of personal branding is split into two fundamentally different games, often confused because they use the same language. Understanding which game you are playing is critical.

One game is **Performance Marketing**. The other is **Brand Building**.

Most of the advice online, from coaches to marketing gurus, is about the performance game. It is a short-term strategy focused on immediate results. “It’s all about conversions and getting short-term cash flow,” Do says. The goal is to get a customer. The relationship is transactional. You provide a product or an idea, they give you money, and the transaction is complete. You may have made a sale, but you haven't built a relationship. The customer feels no obligation beyond the purchase.

Brand building is a different pursuit entirely. It is a long-term game with no immediate ROI. The goal is to give value without any expectation of a return. You are not building a funnel; you are building goodwill. This is a game you can only afford to play if you are patient.

The distinction runs deep:

Performance is about what you do. Brand is about who you are.
Performance is an outward exploration of marketing tactics. Brand is an inward exploration of your values and beliefs.
Performance is a process of manufacturing a message for conversion. Brand is a process of discovering your message and sharing it.

“This will make you probably a lot of money,” Do says, pointing to performance marketing. “This will help you make a difference,” he adds, pointing to brand building. The latter is becoming more critical in the age of AI. With artificial intelligence making information cheap and abundant, the value is shifting from the *what* to the *who*. As Do puts it, a principle Robert Katai also explores in the future of brand marketing, information is on life support.

“If you’re in the information business, which I am, I’m telling you from the front lines, people who do what we do, we got a limited number of days left,” he warns. When anyone can generate a generic marketing plan with an AI prompt, the information itself loses its value.

The value shifts to the guide. “We’re not buying the information so much as we’re looking for you to be the trusted person to lead us to whatever it is we want,” Do explains. Trust is built not on generic information but on a unique point of view, a compelling story, and a clear sense of self.

This is where branding becomes simple, though not easy. Branding simply is meaningful differentiation. Or, even simpler: How are you different? The answer is not a USP or a clever tagline. The answer is you.

“Everything about you, your story, your ethnicity, the city in which you live in, your experiences, your challenges, your struggle, and so on and so forth. These are all the things that make you you,” Do says. The best thing you can do for your brand is to be more of yourself. “Find out what makes you unique and just go all in on that.”

The 9-1-1 Formula for Content That Connects

Even with a commitment to authenticity, the practical question remains: how do you balance sharing yourself with the commercial need to run a business? Many experts advise adding a soft-sell or a “P.S. buy my stuff” to every piece of content. Do calls this a mistake.

“As soon as you do that, then we say, ‘Oh, your whole intent of giving me value was to serve this other thing,’” he explains. “So you’re robbing yourself of the goodwill that you’ve just created.”

Instead, he proposes a clear, disciplined ratio for your content calendar: the 9-1-1 Formula. It is a system designed to bring your content back from life support and build a deeply engaged audience.

The formula is a cycle of eleven pieces of content:

Nine Pieces of Pure Value: This is the core of your output. It’s content that teaches, inspires, or provides a point of view with no strings attached. No selling. No hints. Just pure, unadulterated value given freely. This builds trust and positions you as a generous authority.
One Piece of Direct Selling: When it is time to sell, sell. Do not be shy. Do not hide it behind a veil of content. Be direct, unabashed, and clear about what you are offering. “I got a course. I got a workshop. I have a new book,” Do says. “Buy a ticket.” Because you have invested so heavily in giving value, this direct ask feels earned and welcome. Your followers will often be thrilled for a chance to give back.
One Piece of Personal Story: This is the piece most people forget. After giving value and making an offer, you must show the person behind the brand. “Where are you in all of this stuff?” Do asks. This is where you share your point of view, your struggles, your life. This is what builds relatability and trust on a human level.

Do admits he made this mistake himself, identifying so strongly as a teacher that he hid his personal life, believing nobody would care. It was only when a friend told him, “His stuff is cool, but I don’t know who this guy is. I don’t trust him,” that he realized his error. Pure information creates awareness, but it does not create trust. Relatability does.

The 9-1-1 ratio is a guideline, not a rigid rule. It could be 7-1-1. The key is to never flip the equation. The foundation must always be value, followed by a clear separation between selling and sharing. This approach respects the audience and builds a brand that people not only follow but feel connected to, a theme echoed in conversations about how to build content people actually react to.

The Niche Dilemma: Expanding Without Alienating

A common challenge for successful personal brands is outgrowing their original niche. You build a loyal following around a specific topic, but as a person, you evolve. You develop new passions and want to talk about them. This can create friction. Your original followers came for one thing; now you’re offering something else.

This was the question posed by Clarissa, an attendee known as “Concert Queen” who built her brand around the Austin music scene. After eight years, she expanded to a nationwide scope and began talking about female empowerment, only to find her growth stalling and her audience giving mixed reactions. Her question: should she return to her niche to rebuild momentum?

The interviewer compared it to a fan of the show Breaking Bad not wanting to see the actor Bryan Cranston suddenly doing stand-up comedy. They came for Walter White.

Do’s response refines the analogy. “I’ll watch Better Call Saul, and arguably I believe it’s a better show,” he counters. The key is not to jump to a completely unrelated genre but to create a compelling spin-off. It is about world-building and logical expansion, not a jarring lane change.

A creator has every right to evolve. “I’m an evolving human being. I’ve got other passions and interests. Should I be able to talk about them? Hell yes,” Do declares. But the transition must be managed thoughtfully.

The problem arises when the new topic is so disconnected that it fractures the brand. For Clarissa, the jump from music commentary to the broad category of “women empowerment” may have been too wide. The goal is to expand your territory in a way that brings your audience along, rather than making them feel left behind. This is a central challenge for anyone looking to turn their passion into profit.

Do shares his own journey. He started his YouTube channel with content on graphic design and typography. He soon realized that thousands of others were doing the same thing. So, he evolved, moving into the business of creativity and running a design agency. He still gets comments from people saying, “I remember when they used to talk about design.” But he also attracted a much broader audience.

He tells a story of a man in a truck pulling up beside him in L.A. traffic, rolling down the window, and yelling, “Love your channel, bro!” The man wasn’t a designer; he did tile work. Another time, a hedge fund manager recognized him on the street. By evolving, Do’s audience grew far beyond his original niche of creative entrepreneurs.

The lesson is to grow in a way that feels like an expansion of your core identity, not a departure from it. Some topics, like politics, are so polarizing that they represent a hard lane change that Do himself chooses to avoid. The creator must decide which expansions are authentic spin-offs and which are entirely new shows.

Scaling the Brand Beyond the Founder

For many founders, the ultimate goal is to build something bigger than themselves. How do you scale a personal brand into a corporate brand that can operate independently?

The common mistake is to simply hire people and expect them to amplify the brand. Do illustrates this with a drawing of a megaphone representing the corporate brand. “If you are nowhere to be seen, what are they amplifying?” he asks. Without clear direction, your team will just make things up. Do experienced this firsthand, with three failed attempts over a year and a half to hand off his social media. The content failed because it wasn't grounded in his voice or point of view.

The solution is for the founder to first create the source material. You must become the primary creator of the core philosophy. You are not on the hook to be the producer; you are on the hook to be the thinker.

This means creating long-form, pillar content: books, lectures, podcasts, or in-depth videos that serve as the “bible” for your brand. “The apostles need some story to tell and you have to give them something to work with,” Do says. Once this source material exists, your team can scrape, repurpose, and repackage it into countless smaller pieces for different platforms.

As the team internalizes your perspective, they can move from repurposing to co-creating. They will start to predict your take on new topics and prompt you for it. The founder’s role high-leverage role becomes showing up, sharing their perspective, and letting the team handle the rest. For a creator with a body of work, like a bestselling author, there are likely decades of content waiting to be mined, a powerful concept explored in discussions about buying back your time.

But does this mean the founder is perpetually on the hook to create? Yes, but the frame must shift. It is not a job; it is a contribution. It is a legacy.

Do points to the martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who had a relatively short career but whose philosophy lives on through his teachings. “I think he was a better philosopher possibly than a martial artist,” Do reflects. His ideas have outlived him because they were captured and shared.

In the digital age, this potential for legacy is even greater. Do muses that he has likely created enough content for an AI to synthesize a version of him that his children can interact with long after he is gone. The new frontier of influence is not just Google search rankings but whether AI models, when asked general questions, cite your work without being prompted by your name. The content you create today is training the systems of tomorrow.

When an entrepreneur expresses concern that creating content conflicts with their brand message of buying back time, Do offers a final reframe. This is not work. This is art.

“I look at creating content not as something I have to do. It’s my art form,” he says. “It just looks like pixels on a screen.”

Design is commercial and transactional. Art is an inner fire, a deep calling to express something that must be shared. The work of building a personal brand, in its truest sense, is the art of self-excavation. It is a lifelong project with no endpoint, a contribution that defines your legacy.

The work is not the content. The work is yourself.

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00 I don't think AI is making thought leadership go away. I think it's making generic thought leadership go away. Find out what makes you unique and just go all in on that. You're going to get more clients than you can handle. How am I different? Somewhere along the way, we kind of lose a sense of who we really are. I'm an evolving human being. I've got other passions and interests. Should I be able to talk about them? Hell yes. You just talk about them. When you sell, sell. >> What is the playbook on stepping into 00:00:25 this next few years? >> There's a simple formula. It's 911. I apologize in advance. I'm going to offend you right now. >> Today we're here with worldclass branding expert Chris Doe. So Chris, let's begin. I want to I want to touch on how the way you talk about personal branding is so different. Most personal branding experts I hear, they're kind of like, "Oh, come up with five content categories. Client success stories, thought leadership, trends, and and it 00:00:54 it always has a whiff of what I would call commercial intent. It's like maybe there's this heartfelt story about a your you know you lost your dog or why they're so important to you and then it's like oh PS buy my stuff and it's like uh a little bit awkward maybe because it's like wow we had this personal conversation me and my my audience but now all of a sudden you're like throwing thrown down like an order form in front of me figuratively or literally. So what blew me away about 00:01:20 your personal brand is there's none of that. What led you to thinking about personal branding in this way that it's so much about a personal conversation rather than there always having to be this undertone of I'm here to make some money off you my dear reader or listener. >> Full confession here. So I'm a graphic designer. I'm an introvert. Being in front of people like you would scare the Jesus out of me. I've done a lot of personal work to be here. So I just want 00:01:49 to put that out there. So the introverts in this room's like, "Dude, I can't do this." Yes, you can. if you want to. I was uh noticing there's a gentleman, his name is Aaron Draplin, and I was sitting um I was having a weird conversation with somebody in a theater and we were watching other designers speak and she asked me like, "You don't know who Aaron Daplin is?" I'm like, "No." And she gave me this, you're so pretentious, like you don't know other celebrity designers. 00:02:15 And then I went home that night and checked him out and I was watching this TED talk that he gave in Portland and his delivery was beautiful. He's like a a really large man, trucker cap, jeans, and he just gave gave this presentation. I said, "Man, this guy is so charismatic." And the way he did it and the way he built his brand isn't that he's the world's best designer. There are many people who are better designers. He's not bad, but he got there because of the way he was so 00:02:40 transparent and authentic about how he told his story. So, I'm I'm paraphrasing here. He steps up on stage at a TEDex and he goes, "My name is Aaron James Drappp. I'm 39 years old and I'm doing everything I can to make it in the little leagues. And I was like, who does that? Who tells you how old they are and who tells you your middle name? And he's like, you know, it's an important day. So, I watched the 501 jeans for this event. And he kept talking like this and it's so endearing. I was like, let me 00:03:06 dive down or let's go down this rabbit hole and figure this thing out. And so, I was just really studying him in in the classic Asian way, you know, like let me study success first and figure out the blueprint. And in trying to share this with other people, I started to think, why have I been hiding all this time? Why aren't I as transparent to the outside world that that I am with my friends, with my with my staff, with my team? Why why don't I do that? And so I started to go on this journey for about 00:03:33 twoish years and then I started to figure this thing out and here we are. >> That's the origin story. >> So I'm hearing you say the buzz word that we've all heard so many times. You got to be authentic. Is that what you're saying or is there or is there a flavor of that that's your version? >> Yeah, I I think there's fake authenticity which is out there and what so let me just kind of go to just it's just start here. >> When we talk about authenticity, 00:04:01 everybody says nobody's for being inauthentic. So the word has no meaning, right? And I started talking about this and I came ac across a piece from Carl Young and he was talking about there's your shadow self which is all the dark parts, the parts that carry shame and guilt about you. And for the doctors in the room, forgive me, this is the graphic designer version of this, okay? There's a shadow self and there's this persona. And there's the ego that regulates who we show up as in the world. And the 00:04:29 persona is who you are or who you show up to be in the world to be accepted, to be liked, to be loved. And we've learned how to do this really well. We really have. And so this happens from really early age. Like when you say, "Oh, that person's ugly or that person." And your parents say, "Don't stare, don't talk." And you start to change. You keep changing. And we don't put our feet on the table. We don't do all these things. So you start to learn all the rules and 00:04:52 we're socialized to become this other person, to be accepted. Now I think to be a society we have to have social norms that we abide by to show respect for each other. But then somewhere along the way we kind of lose a sense of who we really are. And so I describe authenticity as the gap that exists between these two points. We will all show up some way. Like today I didn't just show up in my sweatpants and my t-shirt. That's my authentic self in my hotel room. You know I took a shower. I brushed my teeth. So, I'm 00:05:24 showing up a little bit, but I'm trying my best to close these gaps so that the gap between the two is the smallest possible. I don't think it's possible to be 1,000% authentically you. How do you know this? Is because when you're home in your apartment or your in your wherever you are in the world and you're eating Cheetos and your face is messy, that's the real you. But we're not all going to show up that way. So, that's just the gap there. So, that's to answer your question about authenticity. 00:05:52 So, so the objection might be, well, but I have I run a hedge fund or I have investors and if they see me as messy or disorganized, like, isn't that going to be bad for business? Because it's like I don't have my act together. >> Yeah, that's the risk. And I can't tell you it's not going to go away. And the more the more you you are, the more you're going to draw a line in the sand to say, I believe in these ideas. These are my values. This is my backstory. I'm 00:06:22 not for everybody and it's okay. We can accept that. And if you're with me, you're with me. And if you're not, that's okay. So, if you're still up and coming, if your business is volatile, it's not stable enough and you're afraid of doing this, it might mess it up a little bit. We can see. I know this is not going to be popular, but I think I used to love Tesla as a company. I don't love it as much as I used to because Elon's been saying a lot of stuff. So, 00:06:46 that's the risk, but he also brings a lot of new people to that conversation. So, a lot of the investors would probably say, "Elon, just make great cars and fly rockets and all that stuff. We're really happy, but the more you say, the more you're going to draw people to you, and you're going to repel others, and that's the whole point." So, how do you view I mean, uh, there there's a lot of like freedom of speech. I want to be able to say myself, be myself. How do you balance that against 00:07:13 an equally important topic that is not talked about much, which is responsibility of speech? That's a really great question. I'm not so good at answering that question because I think in us trying to be so responsible and thoughtful and intentional, I think we start to edit ourselves a little bit too much. I would rather have all of you who are interested in this practice a little bit more of like radical candandor than to be so careful because I think we've skewed so far on one side like when 00:07:41 we're reading things on LinkedIn, on Twitter, it's like do you what is your point of view? I don't even know where you are in this piece at all. Is that what you're asking about being responsible or is it something else? >> No, that that's great. Okay. So, yeah, what I'm hearing you say is um you know there there's like I want to be careful not to step on people's toes and you can overindex on that and you lose yourself in the swirl. >> Yes. And I'll say this because sometimes 00:08:06 I do put out something on Twitter or X and I'll say something that I was inspired in a moment. I wrote it and I walked away from it and then I turn around a couple hours later was all this negative feedback. Not in a million years. Through my lens, did I ever read that thing the way some people are reading it. So, I have to say, friend, I didn't see it like that. Let's have a conversation about it. And they're not really that happy to have a conversation. They just won't let you 00:08:28 know how they feel. And I think that's okay. And I I say this, right? I think we all have a track record. You read like amazing, impressive bios and resumes of everybody here. Is it that we have to prove oursel every single day of our lives or can we have some credit for the things we've done? So, I was really kind of hurt because I thought this person was my friend and I asked this question somewhere on Twitter and then she just went on the attack. I'm like, "Oh, I thought we were friends and I 00:08:57 thought you knew me better than that and you were just jumping in on that." So, in my mind, I had to put her in a different category. It's like we're we're not as close as I thought. You don't have my back like the way I thought. And so, I kind of think and it's a dumb thing that creatives say all the time. I really it really bothers me. You're only as good as your last piece of work. No, you're not because you're saying I must prove myself for the now until I'm in the grave. That doesn't 00:09:18 make sense to me. So, if you've shown up with genuine values, taking care of people, being honest and sincere, maybe that one thing that you put out there in the context of this, we understand, but we kind of live in this like twominut cycle of news and it's like, can we get away from that a little bit? Am I hearing you correctly to say that your view is kind of like, hey, you got to take me in the context of everything I've said in the last one to five, maybe 10 years or something like that. And if 00:09:50 someone gets up in your face, you're like, hey, relax. Like, that's not really who I am. Is that is that kind of what I'm hearing? >> Sort of. I would just say you don't have to take me at all. You can say whatever you want because whatever you think and feel, it's not really my business. I just want to see how you look at the world and that's okay. So, if you're into like two minutes of history, I'm okay with that. And you don't have to take anything. You don't have to look at 00:10:11 the 3,000 other things I've done. You can look at this. That's fine. I'll I'll I'll try to improve, but I don't want to do that at the cost of me losing myself. >> So, it sounds to me like a lot of this uh comes from um actually work done off LinkedIn, off YouTube, but rather with yourself. What did you need to discover about yourself or where did you need to arrive such that you could be at such peace with Jonno 0138 Kitty Slayer, you know, lighting you up and they 00:10:45 misunderstood you. >> Oh, you've read that tweet then. >> Maybe it was me. No, I'm kidding. O, >> okay. So, I was asked this question a little while ago and I didn't realize what I said would hit some people and then I've been thinking about it. So there was a gentleman, his name is Omar. And Omar asked me, "Hey, Chris, I'm really interested in personal branding. What's the first thing I should do?" I said, "Go to therapy. Learn about who you are." Because my my 00:11:12 viewpoint on personal branding is about understanding who you are, accepting who you are, and expressing your truest self. And we can't do that, I don't think, in any genuine way if we don't know who we are. Like what story are you telling? And I see this and I'm trying to help my friends with this. They have a lot of inner conflict. They don't know who they are. So every time they post, I could read between the lines. You're really conflicted right now. And she's like, "Why don't people like this?" I'm 00:11:40 like, "Uh, because you're saying one thing and you're meaning something else." And she's constantly putting the inner struggle out for people to read. And it would be wonderful if she could just come to peace with that first and then express that. So it's not for everybody. And it's not I'm not saying everybody go out and do it today. It's like you kind of have to do the inner work. >> I think that's probably what struck me the most in watching your YouTube 00:12:06 channel, The Future, uh with no E at the end for anyone who wants to check it out. Um is that there was such a groundedness, such a groundedness where you know and and it's interesting, you know, we're in these times right now where there's incredible political divide and everybody's has to be on a team. and tribalism, all the rest. If we really step back, it's like we are connected by far more things than we're separated by, you know, if we go right down to Masel's hierarchy of needs, you 00:12:35 know, and and so it's like at the end of the day, that kind of like connection and solidness to yourself, I think, is what just beamed through the different pieces of content that I watched. And so, it's funny because it wasn't about AI. It wasn't about what your posting schedule was or what your snappy headline was that had me pull my credit card. No sales letter. Here's 10K. It was this sense of I'm not here to fight. I'm not here to be on either side. I'm here to be on Chris Do's team and and 00:13:07 you know and I'm more or less like kind of do no harm in the in the process and you know limit my judgments of others. And it was just like it was like literally calming. and you're teaching like pricing strategy or something and I'm like I don't know what he just said but I just feel calmer kind of like watching it. How did you arrive there? >> I I've had I've I've done some therapy. I've got a lot of coaching. My wife helps out with some of the shots to the 00:13:34 face. So I'm like, "Okay, let me let me figure that out." You kind of work through this. But I did want to share something with you because I've had this conversation with lots of people before. I just want you all to imagine somebody that you really admire, living or dead, just somebody you really admire and are drawn to. There's something magnetic about them that compels you to like consume their content, to read their books or attend their webinars and seminars. And as best as I can tell, I 00:13:57 have three things I've noticed. And let's compare like the person that you visualize in your mind with what I write on the board. Okay. >> Sure. >> All right. Here we go. So, three things that I think are essential ingredients for everyone who has a really powerful aura, something magnetic about them. Number one, I used to say it was like self-awareness, but I don't think it's self-awareness. It's self-acceptance. It's one thing to be aware, but it's another more powerful thing. I'm sorry, 00:14:22 acceptance to actually accept who you are. And almost everybody that you can think of, I think, has accepted themselves. They're comfortable in their own skin. They're not there trying to prove anything. They they love themselves so much that they leave room for you to be you, which is an incredible thing. This is like a guru, a teacher, or a lover, partner, a spouse, it doesn't matter. They love themselves so much that they leave room for you to be you. And I think that's super 00:14:47 powerful. And then that leads us to the next one, which is self-confident. They're really self-confident. They believe they have the tools and resources to solve any problem. That is the definition of self-confidence. It's not the braggadocio like, I bought this house. to drive that car and have these watches. It's not about that at all. People oftenimes mistake arrogance with self-confidence. They're to totally different animals. Don't get me started. Number three, relating to this idea of 00:15:14 being um authentic is to express true vulnerability. Because I think in order for you to be really strong, you have to be able to be comfortable with what makes you really weak. To really put it out there, this is what's ugly about me or what I've done. And I've come to accept that part. And if you don't love that part, full disclosure, that is just who I am. And I'm not going to apologize for it. It's just who I am. So those three components. Now, I'm just going to just quickly pull the room here. Did 00:15:40 anybody think of this person in your mind who you really are drawn to that don't have these three attributes? I'm just curious. And if it is, which would it be? Okay, I've done this with a couple hundred people. It's almost always the same thing. Eventually, we get to these three things. So, as far as I can tell, if you want to be this person that has true inner peace and draw people to you, I think you need to have these three things. And then you work on these, right? >> Thank you. 00:16:06 >> Okay, cool. Thanks. >> So, what I think is remarkable is oftent times the question of like how do I build a personal brand is like how can I have a million followers? That's a have statement. or it's what do I have to do when what do I have to post and what content that that's a doing statement so we've got having statements and doing statements and I think what you've really done is you've pointed to what are the being qualities and we get back to be do have we get back to 00:16:38 ancient Sanskrit sat rajas 5200y old book called the bag gita this is not a 2007 the secret concept this is thous but predates Christianity type idea and so there's a real connection to ancient ient wisdom and spirituality in the exact teaching that you're giving us here today about personal branding. Um, is there anything else that you'd like to share that you think is kind of a fundamental idea of how you see personal branding a little differently? >> Yes. >> That um can help kind of bring everyone 00:17:10 together? >> Yeah. >> Um I I think in the world of personal branding, it it can be broken down into this. And sorry, I just like my arrows here. So there are the people who believe in personal branding as a way to get customers. It's kind of more performance marketing based and you're going to hear a lot of people and I'm sorry if you are a coach and you teach this. I'm I apologize in advance. I'm going to offend you right now. So per person uh performance marketing, it's 00:17:38 all about conversions and getting short-term cash flow. And I'm not good at that. I just came from a mastermind on Friday that everybody there's really good at that. I'm terrible at that cash flow. Okay. And on the other side is brand building. And brand building doesn't have any short-term value, but has long-term potential value. And the more you do this, the less you have this. And we can see that everybody who's trying to sell you something, you might buy from them. You might even feel 00:18:11 good about the product. But I don't think you think in your mind, I owe anything because the transaction has been completed. They give you something, a product, uh an idea, whatever it is, and you give them money, transactions over. The thing about brand building is you're giving value without expectation of outcome, without any other things attached to it. And you can't afford to do this unless you can play this game for a really long time. And there's value there. Okay. So, some other 00:18:38 differences here is that this is a this is what you do. This is who you are. This is an outward exploration. This is an inward exploration like who am I? What makes me me? What are my values and beliefs? And sharing that with the world. Now, unfortunately, um the people who talk about personal branding use the same language that I use, but they're really talking about this part of it, which is fine because you all need to make money. You got to pay the bills and all that stuff. I'm really talking about this part of it 00:19:18 which I find very few people actually do. So those are some of the foundational things. This is an inward thing. This is an outward thing. This is a manufacturing thing. This is a discovery thing. I could sit here all day and talk about the differences between the two. But this is what I believe is this will make you probably a lot of money. This will help you make a difference because in this world especially in the age of AI and I guess AI created content I guess information has become really 00:19:50 cheap. The value of information is really low and if you're in the information business which I am I'm telling you from the front lines people who do what we do we got limited number of days left because information is really cheap. And the thing is, as you talked about Perry, he's the godfather of uh digital marketing, right? SEO. Here's the thing is we can all teach from the same sourcehood, if you will. Why does someone choose Perry or Tim or anybody else in this room? This is the 00:20:23 most important part. It's because you have a point of view. We're not buying the information so much as we're looking for you to be the trusted person to lead us to whatever it is we want. And it's hard to get to this point unless you're able to tell your story and point out why you're different. Sorry, I'm like trying to remember like a thousand ideas right now. >> Hey, it's good, man. >> I'm processing here. So, branding doesn't need to be super complicated. 00:20:53 Branding simply is um meaningful differentiation. And if you want to make that simpler, just how are you different? That's it. How are you different? And on the surface, this would be really hard to solve. Like how am I different? And it's a lot easier than you think because you just need to be you. everything about you uh your story u your ethnicity the city which you live in your experiences your challenges your struggle and so on and so forth these are all the things that make you you so 00:21:36 I think if you really really believe in this in this idea of branding is being different meaningfully different is the best thing that you can do is to be more you so it's you to the power of you find out what makes you unique and just go all in on that. And there's a lot more things that we can draw on here and pull apart, but that's it. It's not a complicated concept. It's not easy to do. I hope I'm saying his name right, but um great philosopher Thales asked this question by students. What's the 00:22:04 most difficult thing in the world? And he says to know thyself. To know thyself. And I think from now until you're dead, we're still searching for who we are. The joke is like they asked him like, "What is the easiest thing to do?" He said, "Give advice. C couple last questions before we turn to Q&A. So, everyone get ready for your questions. So, let's say I'm sitting here and I'm going, you know, Chris, I agree with you. I'm ready to be me. I'm ready to be transparent. I'm ready to be 00:22:35 vulnerable. Um, there there is some amount of action that needs to happen next. Like, I'm putting keys to a keyboard or a camera to my face or whatnot. uh ho how do you view the mix of commercial intent versus just sharing myself with no commercial intent? Do you have like a certain cadence or a certain way like some people teach you should say PS buy my stuff at the end of every personal share or do you have some kind of like ratio of like you know authenticity posts to like commercial posts or something? 00:23:07 >> Yeah. So I I was helping out with who was it a bunch of uh people the real estate mortgage space. So, pretty dry stuff, right? And they're like, "Oh, my content, nobody looks at it." I'm like, "It sucks, doesn't it?" When you put out something into the world and you think it's valuable, you put your heart and soul into it and it just gets like nothing. That sucks. And the way I was able to help them figure it out, like your your content's on life support. Your content no one 00:23:34 cares about it's it's almost in the grave. And so, there's a simple formula. It's 911. You're going to call 911. It's an emergency. I got to get my contact back on online. My my ratio roughly is nine pieces of pure value, no selling at all. Don't mix up the waters. Don't do 90% content and value and then 10% buy my stuff. Because as soon as you do that, then we say, "Oh, your whole intent of giving me value was to serve this other thing." So you're robbing 00:24:00 yourself of the goodwill that you're just have created. So don't do that. Create nine pieces of content pure value. And then when you sell, sell. Don't try to like be shy about it. Don't try to like oh content and selling. Just say, "I got a course. I got a workshop. I have a new book I want you to buy. I'm singing, performing, dancing, or whatever it is we're all doing in this room. Be there. Buy a ticket." And you can do this unabashedly without reservation because you've already given 00:24:26 the value. And you would say, "Okay, that's good, right?" But there's this one other component. It's very, very important that you do, which is you have to do a piece of content that shows you being you. So, I've given you value. I'm selling you something because I got to pay the bills. But then where are you in all of this stuff? And it's a mistake that I made, which was to create content because I identify as a teacher. I want to teach people. And I was like, nobody 00:24:49 wants to hear from me. Who cares about me? And then I heard from a friend of a friend who said, yeah, his stuff is cool, but I don't know who this guy is. I don't trust him. So there's a trustability and I think more important factor, which is relatability. I don't know who you are. You haven't shared with me your point of view. Oh, you have kids. Okay. What's going on? Like, where do you live? What are what are your struggles? And when we see that, I think we can relate. And so, the 00:25:17 ratio, I think, is pretty good. Now, it doesn't need to be like that. It could be 711 or whatever. But don't don't flip the equation. Don't do nine pieces of selling, one piece of value. Don't do nine pieces of personal content. The ratio should be valueled. >> So, it's it's it's teaching, thought, leadership, point of view. Nine pieces. One piece, buy my stuff, one piece is here's who I am behind the scenes. Yeah. And I think if you do that, when you say 00:25:41 it by myself, people will be thrilled. They're like, gosh, I've been wondering how to give you money. I love what you do. And then don't make them work so hard to crawl through the internet and find it. Just tell them. So, uh, I believe my last question before we turn it over is you touched on how the AI revolution is putting information on life support. And that could be that people with online courses can't sell online courses, but it could also be like products like CPG products 00:26:16 or whatnot that use information to attract attention through marketing. you know, I I I think all the way back to uh NO Explode, which was a supplement in like the mid 2000s, and they built a list by selling an ebook, and then they launched the product into that list, which is a brilliant marketing strategy. So, if if leading with thought leadership is going away, and we're getting we're going to get, you know, flooded with AI avatars of fake faceless YouTube pages and all the rest. What's a 00:26:47 person to do if they do have value to share? if they are excited to be helpful to people who have the problem that they can solve like what is the playbook on stepping into this next few years where everything's getting turned upside down with personal branding and marketing in the age of AI >> I don't think AI is making thought leadership go away I think it's making generic thought leadership go away there's a big differentiation there right so u there there are people here 00:27:14 who who know how to teach you how to do marketing or or buy properties or to invest But I could choose from a lot of different people. I'd rather choose somebody that I connect with on a humanto human level. And so now more than ever, I think you surfacing those stories and showing up authentically as yourself saying, "Yeah, I'm not I'm not for everybody." I think you're going to get more clients than you can handle without even selling anything. The your story, you know, how you reached out to 00:27:43 me. It's like I was even trying to sell you. It just it just works out. >> Beautiful. Thank you. Yeah. Anything else you wanted to share before we turn it to the audience? >> No, I think I'm good. >> You're good. Good for now. Okay, cool. Who's got the first question? Clarissa, >> would you stand up so we can all hear you? And then Chris, if you can >> Yes, I I'll try. Will you remind me if I >> I will. Yeah. Repeat the question for the report. 00:28:03 >> Um, just with everything you're saying, thank you for being here. Um, my question is I started off super niche. It was just Austin. And I know a lot of people in here can probably relate because they all have very niche brands. But then I started to get antsy and I started to get bigger opportunities. So then I went nationwide and then I was like, "Okay, I don't want to just talk about music and this. I have female empowerment and I want to talk about this." So I started having this just 00:28:27 like turnover of followers or people like, "Oh, you're not talking about this anymore. You're talking about this." And so and then it just became as I evolved and changed and I'm the most authentic with me now. I haven't grown to where I want to be and I want to spread that message and I want to have a bigger impact. So, how do you kind of differentiate you want to have because I have like really loyal OG followers, but then I have I've kind of gotten away from my niche which was, you know, what 00:28:53 got me to where I am. So, just kind of understanding how do you grow or should you should I go back and niche down just to kind of build that momentum again? What would you advise? >> Okay, great question. >> And I'm going to just quickly build on that. Um, >> could you repeat the question then? Yeah, sure. Okay. Yeah. So, >> Clarissa or Clarissa? >> Clarissa. >> Clarissa. Thank you, Clarissa. So, Clarissa's question is essentially, >> hey, I built this great following around 00:29:18 a specific topic. I mean, her handle is Concert Queen, >> right? >> Was it my name with Concert Queen on the end, >> right? >> And she's very here in the live music capital of the world, Austin, Texas. Very clear value proposition if you're going to follow her Instagram. as she's grown in notoriety and fame and and more opportunities coming her way, the she's opened up the spigot where it's not just Austin, it's now nationwide and she started talking about items outside of 00:29:50 going to concerts and what's hot into women's empowerment and whatnot. And she's getting kind of like some mixed reactions from her audience and her page hasn't grown the way that she would like it to. where to next is is her question. And I'll add on to that that like I heard a really good point from a YouTube expert on YouTube the other day who said if I'm a fan of Breaking Bad, I want to go on to Netflix and I want to see more Breaking Bad. I don't want to see the 00:30:22 actor who plays Walter suddenly doing standup comedy when I'm I came for Breaking Bad. >> Okay. >> So, how do we help Clarissa to >> I like your example. >> Thank you. because I'll watch Better Call Saul and arguably I believe it's a better show. So it's like we we do spin-offs and we build the we we do world building. We're not just creating different verticals to get into. So the question I have for you before I'm able to answer it is how long were you making 00:30:49 content in the niche space? >> Probably for about five years. >> Okay. F. So five years. Five years. Okay. >> Eight years actually this week at South by. But now like I said it's just expanded. Okay, they have all these varied interests. Now, >> it it's a great question and it's a very real one that people have to deal with. I only ask you that cuz sometimes people do it for like six months. I'm like, uh, >> okay, there's a probably a focus issue 00:31:12 more than anything else. So, what happens is you start in a niche that's beautiful. You attract this hardcore audience and then you start to realize, well, I'm an evolving human being. I've got other passions and interests. Should I be able to talk about them? Hell yes. You just talk about them. And what happens inevitably is people are like here and like, hey, come back. We miss you. didn't don't you want to talk about this anymore and you're like well I want you to come along with me but I'm 00:31:35 growing I'm expanding but the theory should be that when you're growing expanding reaching a broader audience you should actually have more people joining you Gary Vaynerchuk talks about this a lot of thought leaders and experts know that they're going to hit the edges of how far they can grow organically they just grow or maybe through intention like oh I need to take the next step we just do that so within my own story I started out doing design and typography logo Google reviews on my 00:32:01 channel. I quickly realized there's a thousand kids out there who can do that. Some are better. I don't want to stay in that space. So I started to talk about this thing that I didn't know about which was how to run a creative business for designers. And so now I still get these comments like I remember when they used to talk about design. That was eight years ago. You come along with the program, friend. But then here's the really cool thing. I always think of my core audience as the creative 00:32:25 entrepreneur, but the audience has grown much broader than that. And I'll tell you some funny things. There was a guy I'm driving with my children. And they pull right up next to us. I'm like, "We're in LA." So I'm like, "You never know what's going to happen. Is this a driveby? What's going on?" I'm like, "Kids, hold on." And this guy in this white truck rolls on his window. He's like, "Read on your window." I'm like, 00:32:45 "Did I cut you off? What happened?" He goes, "Love your channel, bro. Love your channel." I'm like, "Are you a designer?" He goes, "No, I do tile work." I'm like, "Cool. >> Tile work. >> Tile work. >> Tile work. >> Tile work." Like those things, right? And and I was walking in Pasadena Oldtown and I swear I'm just walking. I was talking to my friend and this person looks at me. He's like, "Mr. Doe, I don't think there are a lot of Mr. Do's, 00:33:09 but I wasn't even sure it was me. I'm just walking towards this guy, an older guy. Are you talking to me?" And we started talking. He's a hedge fund manager. I'm like, "What the heck?" He's like, "Love your content, bro." So when you're growing, you just got to make sure that you're growing in a way that feels you're expanding on what you're doing versus changing lanes. So I think perhaps, and this is just a hunch, women empowerment is such a big lane change 00:33:35 that now it's fracturing. So when when when Tim was saying when you show up for Breaking Bad, you don't want Dancing with the Stars. It's not in the same lane. So you have to kind of figure out how to do this. Is that okay of an answer for you? So is the solution. She needs a second Instagram account. >> Could be, but that's a pain in the ass to do. >> It is. And that's and then creatively again as a lot of people in here, you start kind of it's like analysis by 00:33:58 paralysis and you don't end up >> Yeah. You're like, not again. I'm not going to go through climbing over the glass. It's the way get back to that core and build versus divide. >> Okay. >> I think >> like people will say, Chris, talk about politics. No, that's not what I do. Talk about what's happening in Israel. I'm like, I'm not going to do that. That's not my lane. I have an opinion about it, but I just tell my friends I'm not going 00:34:19 to do that. >> Thank you. Uh Justin, >> yeah, this is an awesome >> one quick sec. Ryan, we'll get you next. Go ahead, Justin. >> You built the future into a brand that operates beyond just you. I know a lot of people in the room have a personal brand. >> Yes. >> Uh but I think there's importance to scaling a brand beyond you. And so I'd love to know some of the frameworks that you've created that are self- sustaining so that you can actually grow a brand 00:34:46 independent of a single person. >> So, so the question is and make sure I got this right Justin tell me. Um, is Chris has gone is it more about the future? Is that the brand? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So Chris has gone beyond Chris Doe and he has a brand called the future. What frameworks, what worldviews, what beliefs, what steps or habits did Chris need to be able to go beyond just the Chris Doe show? Did I get it right, Justin? >> Yeah. Scaling a brand but without you being solely responsible to scale that 00:35:20 brand. >> Scaling the brand without him being the person who's in every single video and writing every script and Okay. Thanks, Justin. >> That was a deceptively simple question with a super complicated answer. You want to go there? We'll go there if you want. All right, let's do it. Okay, so here's the thing. The the question is always like personal brand, corporate brand, what's the difference? And there's there's gigantic differences. Okay, hopefully I can draw this in a way 00:35:44 that makes sense. That's the megaphone. Okay, that's the corporate brand. And if you are nowhere to be seen, what are they amplifying? So what you have is you have a lot of your people. Sorry, those are people. They're just going to make up stuff. Oh, we we what is your name again? >> Justin. >> We we we're just going to make up what we think Justin is thinking about, right? So, they just say things and yeah, they start to invent things and it can work and you can get sales and you 00:36:13 know what happens with really large brands as they grow? They go so far away from the founders story that we don't even know what we stand for anymore. So, it's just a bunch of corporates deciding and lawyers I think deciding what we're going to say. All right. So, they need to know what the text is in the word of Justin. What has Justin said? So Justin has to create a lot of content so that like oh this we we here we understand we can draw on this and we could magnify it through another channel. So when I was 00:36:42 first starting out I kind of I just gave the the social stuff to people and I hired a diff a bunch of different people. It all failed over a year and a half of trying with three different types of people and companies. It all failed because they were just making up stuff. The easiest way to do this is you start creating a book, lecture, something that's long and it's meaty that really shares your point of view. So, you know, make a biblical reference. The apostles need some story to tell and you have to give them 00:37:11 something to work with, right? So, as soon as you start doing this, you'll see they scrape your content and they make other digestible versions of it and they post it on different platforms on your behalf. So what we want to do is make you in the thinking space and the POV space, not the production and all the other stuff that a lot of us get caught up in. Right? So here's the beautiful thing. The more of this that you do, the easier it is for these people to say, "Hey, I can predict what Justin is going 00:37:38 to talk about. I know what his take is." So now what they do is Justin, what's your take on A B? What is the weirdest client experience you've ever had? What is the dumbest investment you've ever made? And then you can tell them. So now they're co-creating with you. And so you're like, "Okay, so I just show up and they just pepper me with stuff or they run show ideas by me and then I can produce that content." The maximum use of your time is just to record that 00:38:00 initial piece of content and that's it. Just out of curiosity because I heard some people are doing podcasts here. How many people host their own podcast? Can you raise your hand? Quite a few. And do you record video as well? >> Some. Okay. Uh so some tools. Are you doing a podcast? >> Yeah. >> What do you use to record? >> What platform? >> Riverside. >> Perfect. Perfect answer. So if you if both you and the guest are doing Riverside, of course, high quality 00:38:25 video, you can take that one piece of content and make a thousand pieces of content from that. Is that what you currently do? >> Yes. >> Okay. So you have no problem there. >> And and Chris, for context, he's got a USA Today, Wall Street Journal bestselling book. You know, the >> So he has all this stuff already. >> So you you probably have decades worth of content to mine. >> Is is that the challenge then or >> Yeah. So I guess to a certain degree then the the content creator is always 00:38:51 on the hook to at least create content but it'd be nice to not always have to be the voice of the content. >> When you say the voice, should you expand what that means? >> So your concern is that you are are you going to be on the hook to perpetually be there to just keep creating content even if you don't have to produce it? >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> What if you get hit by a bus? Well, authors die, teachers die, their teachings continue on. Here's the 00:39:21 remarkable thing that like everybody said, who's the most influential person in martial arts? I always say Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee for the number of films he made in the years in which he was teaching, it was very, very short. But he lives on through media, through his teachings, and it still refer like he was deeply philosophical. I think he was a better philosopher possibly than a martial artist, but at least he brought those two worlds together. So, I have to imagine with you, Justin, that you have 00:39:43 decades of content that's just sitting there waiting to be unearthed and to be transformed into some other kind of content, right? >> That's correct. >> Okay. So, there's lots of things that you can do. Now, this gets into the uncanny valley, some scary stuff. I'm not necessarily a proponent for this just yet, but if you recorded enough content in video, you can live forever. I'm not in love with that idea just yet, but you could, right? And I think about this, one day I will die. And I would 00:40:09 like for my children, my two my two boys to be able to have conversation with their father in a voice that sounds like me, that looks like me, that is built on my ideas. I think I've made enough content that the GBTs will be able to synthesize some version of me. And that's a beautiful thing. Now, right before getting here, one of my friends from the UK texted me and she said, "Chris, uh, you just came up in GBT." I'm like, "Did you ask for me?" She goes, "No, she just asked general 00:40:34 questions about broad topics and my name keeps coming up." I'm like, "Dang, the content is working for me." So, we've we've been previously thinking about Google as the powerhouse. The new paradigm shift is what is AI saying about you without using your name. That's the real power play. And in fact, there was um there was an NBC producer and I got on a casting call and they're like, "Oh, we want to potentially cast you for a show." And I'm like, "Oh, how did you 00:41:01 find out?" assuming you've watched something on YouTube, you read something on Instagram, they said, "We did a Google search and we asked chat GBT and your name comes up." So, those of you who are still kind of reluctant to get on the content game, let's get on it. And I know a lot of authors do this. They try their best to make all their content hidden because they're afraid of digital piracy, and that's a real thing. But by hiding the content, you're also preventing the robots to find you and 00:41:27 other people who really want to work with you to find you. So Justin, I don't feel like I've answered your question and I endeavor to answer your question. >> Well, I I like I think it was a great start for it. You know, it's it's funny because my brand is very much about buying your time back so you don't have to work. >> But in order to keep producing the content, I needed to be in alignment with that philosophy. So I don't want to be a slave to anyone or to anything. 00:41:57 >> Right? So here's here's the other thing, too. And I'm a little nervous about saying something like this, but like say for example, if you were to hire some person to do to speak the parts of what you're supposed to speak, even though it's not their ideas, they're your ideas. The the people are going to fall in love with that person and not you. And it's kind of important that it be you. So, there's a guy, I forget his name. I think his name is Devin, but I 00:42:18 forget his his name, but he goes by Legal Eagle on YouTube. Anybody watch Deon Deon? Legal Eagle. I talked to him. We're having dinner at a kind of a creator party and he has his parallegals writing all the content. So he just does the bare minimum that he has to do which is to be the guy on the camera at least for now. So if you can commit to like maybe a day's worth of shooting a month I think you would have more than what you need. >> Is that okay? >> I I think there's also something 00:42:46 compelling about saying what's the main thing Richard Branson does? What's the main thing Elon Musk does? What's the main thing presidents and heads of states do? Right. Spokesperson, spokesperson, spokesperson, spokesperson. I I wouldn't fault you. You know, I know that you you know, you really want to be aligned in in integrity with like, well, hey, I worked myself out of a job and now I'm just the lifestyle guy. But I think that there's a deeper calling there, Justin, right? Where you've 00:43:12 accomplished that and now I'm not saying it's a moral obligation, but I feel your calling to be like, I want to help as many people as possible get what I have. This isn't about me having a nine-to-five creating content. This is about like a deep calling. This isn't work. This is a legacy. This is a contribution. In my view, and I've read your book and you know, we're friends and all the rest. Like, I wouldn't put in the bucket of I have to go to work. I wouldn't put 00:43:40 talking about my life's mission and purpose and contribution to free people to live their greatest lives with their families and raise their kids. I would not put that in the bucket. You doing that regularly. I would not put that into the bucket of 9 to5 I'm a slave and I'm now a hypocrite or something like that. So maybe just that reframe is helpful. I >> I have one more thought about this. Um I I I have often struggled with this definition of art and design. Design is commercial. It's transactional. There's 00:44:10 a client. There are terms and conditions. We know who's in the driver's seat. And I endeavor to do a great job for my clients. But artists, what they do is they just create. If you want to buy it, you buy if you don't. But they have this deep fire inside of them that they don't know how else to express themselves. The ones who are business savvy, who understand what the world wants, they have commercial success. So I look at creating content not as something I have to do. It's like 00:44:33 my art form. It just looks like pixels on a screen. But is my art form and it's very important to me that I get to be able to do this. My kids always ask me, "Dad, what do you do after this?" I'm like, "There is no after this. This is all I do. I just happen to be doing the thing that I love doing the most right now. And then I think if you looked at it, this is your art. Are you an artist? >> Yeah, I would say I am. Although, you know, in earlier life, I would say no 00:44:57 way. But yeah, this is definitely my art. >> Yeah, I think so, too. Right. No one tells you what words to use and your cadence and your tone in the subject and when you have to release things, you just get to choose. And I think that's a really beautiful thing. H how many people here just so we can help Justin's psyche. How many people here and and if you don't want to answer that's fine would call it a smash success if they were free to create as much content as they wanted on any given day of the week 00:45:25 on any platform and were not required to show up to to grind on content but did it just because you felt the nudge and you want to do it. Who who loves that vision? Justin, none of us are calling you a hypocrite for wanting to do that, man. you know that like you you are the role model that many of us want to aspire to. So you're actually by showing up and creating content whenever you feel the nudge. You're actually an

Download transcript

Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.

Get insights on creativity, business, and design from The Futur.

You can unsubscribe anytime. By submitting, you agree to receive communications and to our Privacy Policy.

“Find out what makes you unique and just go all in on that.”

— Chris Do

Key Takeaways

Subscribe

Details

Length: 1h 16m
Views: 66,518
Topic: PERSONAL BRANDING

Share